


Taking Chances

by kcm



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 22:01:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 106,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2126145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcm/pseuds/kcm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was never one for taking chances. I preferred to blend into the background, observing the world through the lens of my camera.<br/>But my adventurous friend Taylor had other plans. Setting me up with a job touring with her famous boyfriends band, I was suddenly traveling the world, taking photos of everything around me, and getting paid to do it. It was the biggest chance I had ever taken. Leaving home, leaving my job, and meeting him. He was another chance I wasnt expecting to take.<br/>Like I said, I wasnt used to taking chances....but it isnt always up to me....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Taylor, you’re out of your fucking mind” I said in a huff, standing from the couch to go to the kitchen for a drink.  
“Are you kidding? This is perfect! It’s a great opportunity.” She responded, hands flailing outwards to emphasize her point.

Grabbing a water from the fridge, I closed the door and turned to lean against it. Unscrewing the lid, I took a swig, before cradling the bottle in my hands. I just shook my head, refusing to look at my enthusiastic friend.

This just prompted her to continue. “Give me one good reason why you shouldn’t take this job?” She asked, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees.

“Just one?” I answered sarcastically.

She narrowed her blue eyes at me.

“Okay,” I continued, returning to sit with her on the couch. Tucking my legs beneath me, I started counting on my fingers. “One, I have school. Two, Im not a professional photographer. Three, I have an apartment,” to emphasize my point, I flung my arms around the space around us to show her our surroundngs….my arpartment. “Four, I have a job, and five, great real.”

She laughed. “Okay, one, you’re doing your masters online, so school is no excuse. Two, you don’t have to be a professional. Harry showed your pictures to their manager and they think you will be perfect….”

I interrupted her there, cringing. “I still cant believe you showed him those.”

She ignored me and continued. “Three, you own this place, so that is a moot point. Four, you are sick of that job. You bitch about it all the time! And five, I am SO real.” She smirked at her last comment, clearly pleased with herself.

I couldn’t help but grin back.

Taylor was my complete opposite in every way. She was beautiful, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Tall, slender, outgoing, talented. Oh yeah, and famous. Did I mention that? ‘My’ Taylor is also known as Taylor Swift.

I however, am nothing like her. I am medium in every regard. Medium height, dark brown medium length hair, medium green eyes. I suppose I have a slender build, but where Taylor is toned and fit, I am soft and slight. Where I always tell her I envy her long legs and butt, she points out that she would kill for my chest and cheekbones. Like I said, we were opposites.

We had met by accident one day at a Starbucks in LA four years prior. I was in my sophomore year of university at UCLA getting my undergraduate degree in nursing, and had been standing in the cue waiting for my coffee before heading to class. It was a cool day, especially for LA. I had a long sleeved shirt pulled down over my hands as a fiddled with the hems impatiently. I was already late, so the impossibly slow actions of the new guy behind the counter had me huffing every few minutes. I wasn’t usually an impatient person, but I hated to be late for class, especially when the prof had a tendency to center those who were tardy out for the rest of the class. Finally, my drink was placed in front of me, and I turned to walk away. Immediately running into a girl in a long dark coat, and spilling my drink all down her front. I closed my eyes. ‘This cant be happening’ I thought to myself, mentally willing whatever nightmare I was in to end and to wake up in my warm bed.

Opening my eyes, I was unfortunately not in my bed with the familiar photograph plastered walls all around me. I looked up at a pretty blonde girl with a frown on her lips. Her arms were out slightly as she looked down at the mess of her coat.

I immediately started to apologize. “I am SO SO sorry,” I started, turning to grab a handful of napkins from the counter. I turned back and handed them to her, dropping a few in the process. “I didn’t know you were there.”

I waited for her to start yelling at me. It was LA. People liked to yell. “Its ok, shit happens.” She answered, surprising me with a smirk.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“You look like you expected me to slap you.” She laughed, wiping away the coffee from the front of her coat.

“I did actually.”

She laughed.

It was only then that I looked more closely at her. Her face was unmistakable. The curly hair tied back in a ponytail, her blue eyes rimmed with dark liner. Her lips her infamous red.

I wanted to die right then.

I had just spilled my drink all over Taylor Swift.

She seemed to recognize my realization. Holding her hand out, she smiled. “Taylor.”

A stared at her, shocked, for a moment, before returning the gesture. “Dylan.”

And that’s how it started. One of my typical embarrassing, uncoorindated, epically unstellar moments had turned into one of my best. Taylor and I had become close friends ever since. She was the one person I could turn to with anything. And I would drop anything to be there for her. More than once I had received a text message at midnight, her complaining about the guy she was dating, and I would show up with ice cream and a horror movie and we would eat, bitch, and laugh the night away.

I saw her in concert whenever I could, visiting her on the road, and she screamed the loudest (and most embarrassingly) at my graduation when I received my 2 years later.

She was my family in LA, since the rest of my biological family was back home in Michigan. I didn’t see them as often as I would like, but when I got a full scholarship to UCLA, I couldn’t turn it down.

“Seriously,” Taylor continued. “This is perfect. You get to go on the road and see the world, you get to take photographs, which you love more than anything, and you get paid for it. I honestly don’t see the problem.”

She wouldn’t.

“I just cant pick up and leave my life behind to go running off with your boyfriend and his band.” I retorted.

“Okay, you are NOT running off with my boyfriend.” She started, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at me.

“Right, right. You would probably write a song about it. That bitch that stole my curly haired cutie or something.”

“Fuck off.” She laughed, swinging a pillow at me that she clucked from the couch behind her.

I deflected her hit, stealing the pillow from her. “I just cant.”

“You just can.” She argued.

“UGH!” I groaned, leaning down into the stolen pillow which I had placed in my lap.

She was impossible.

“There is no good reason not to take this and you know it.” She said, a smirk on her face that I could hear even from my blinded spot with my face smashed into the pillow.

The ‘this’ she referred to was one of her less than brilliant ideas. Taylor had somehow convinced her boyfriend, Harry (yes, Harry Styles of One Direction) to in turn convince his management to take me on as ‘tour photographer’. Apparently Harry is pretty convincing because they had agreed. Hell had obviously frozen over.

Months prior, Taylor had brought Harry over to my place to hang out. I had met him a few times since they had started dating, and had to admit he was a nice guy. Tall, slim, a mop of crazy brown curls that he insisted on slinging to the side lay on his head. And of course his accent. Taylor and I were both suckers for accents. Harry was visiting LA from London before Taylor went out on tour in the coming weeks. Embarrassingly, while we sat on the couch ignoring the movie that was playing on the TV, Taylor had told him that I didn’t know who is band was.

Harry laughed. “That’s ok, love,” he smirked, dimples pinching his cheeks. “I wont hold it against you.”

I shot Taylor a dirty look as she sat snuggled into Harrys side on the couch across from me. She just smirked in return.

“Shes more into photography.” Taylor continued.

“Oh yeah?” Harry looked at me, taking his arm from across Taylors shoulders to lean on his knees. “Care you show me?”

“Thanks,” I laughed. “But no thanks.”

Taylor, unfortunately, had other ideas. She hopped off the couch, and plucked my portfolio from the bookshelf against the wall. I jumped up to stop her, but she handed it to Harry quickly. I would have snatched it away, but I didn’t know him well enough to be too forceful. Taylor, however, was gonna get a beat down.

Harry leaned back, the big black book across his down crossed legs, flicking through the photos. I could feel my face growing warmer. God, this was embarrassing. I didn’t let many people look at my photos. I always said they were my hobby, but Taylor said it was my passion. Nursing was my career, it paid my bills, gave me excitement as I worked in the Cedar Sinai emergency room, but photography was my outlet. I took pictures of anything and everything. Landscapes. Animals. People. Taylor and I would walk around the city, incognito as she called it, with her dark sunglasses and a hat over her recognizable curls, taking pictures of people as they walked around us. Street photography was always fun, catching people when they least expected it, in their most natural states. I had even taken a few of Taylor when I decided I wanted to try my hand at portraits. She loved them, but I could pick out all the flaws in my image. I was always hard on myself.

Having Harry, who I didn’t know well, looking through my collection of my favorite images was unnerving. His face was impassive. I wouldn’t tell if he liked them or thought they were rubbish. I sat with my legs crossed under me on the chair across from him, my eyes flicking between where he sat on the couch, and Taylor as she stood at his side. I shot her ‘stink eye’ every chance I got.

“These are really good,” Harry started, bringing my eyes from a rather impressive ‘stink’ in Taylors direction back to him. “I love this one” he said, holding the book up to show Taylor. She grinned, so I assumed it was one of the portraits of her.

“Thanks” I muttered.

“Have you ever thought of doing this professionally?” he asked, bringing the book back to his lap to flick through the images further.

I laughed. “No. Definitely not.”

“You should.” He said, his eyes still on the book.

What I didn’t know, was that a few weeks ago Harry had told Taylor that One Directions management had decided that they wanted to hire a photographer to come on tour with the band and shoot ‘behind the scenes’ images to help give fans a closer glimpse into the lives of their idols. It was a pretty simple job. Tour around with the band for their latest, 8 month tour, take photo through the course of the tour, on the bus, at the hotel, and so on. Upon hearing this, Taylor immediately thought of me. She knew I had been feeling a little trapped. I had started my masters degree online in education, and was working part time in the ER. I knew I bitched to her a lot about how boring my life was, especially in comparison with hers, but I didn’t think she took me that seriously. I thought it was just two girlfriends complaining about their lives. I guess in an attempt to help, or throw, me out of my rutt, Taylor had stolen my portfolio and given it to Harry to show to his management team. Apparently he had, and apparently they had thought I would be perfect for the job.

And that brings us to the argument at hand. Taylor desperate for me to ‘try something exciting’ and ‘seize the day’, while I was clinging to my comfortable little rutt with nails dug in.

Bringing my face out from my pillow hiding place, I met Taylors smug glare.

It was a good opportunity, I had to admit. Amazing, really. I loved to travel, and didn’t get to do it as often as I would like. I could take a leave of absence from my job easy enough, since I was close friends with my manager. I owned my apartment, having bought it with the money I inherited when my grandfather died a few years prior. I had no boyfriend tying me to LA, my family was miles away already, and my school was portable via my MacBook.

There really was no good reason not to take it.

Other than the fact that I was scared shitless.

“I know youre considering it,” Taylor said, smirking. “So just stop with the days of fake soul searching and agree.”

I blew out an exasperated breath.

“How do you always talk me into shit?” I asked, leaning my right side on the couch and pressing my face into the soft fabric.

“Because Im just that good. And Im always right.” She paused. “Well, at least when it comes to your life.”

I smiled at her. She usually was right when it came to my life. Her life, not always so much.

“So?” she urged, eager.

Was I really considering this? Picking up, living out of a suitcase for almost a year with a bunch of strangers? I knew Harry, but not well enough to spend 8 months trapped in a bus with him. And I had never met any of the other members, or anyone associated with their team. I was shy by nature, so taking a chance like this was a big step for me.

But also the opportunity to travel, see the world, take photographs of exotic places and cute boys, and get paid for it?

What the fuck was my problem?

Sitting upright, I smiled at Taylor.

“Im in.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Im going to fucking kill Taylor.” I muttered to myself for the millionth time that hour.

My hands busied themselves with the hem of my grey top. My black leggings hugged my bouncing legs, and the heels of my knee high boots tapped against the floor nervously.

I was sitting in the expansive waiting room of an LA office, waiting to meet with a member of the One Direction management team. Taylor had told me that everything was set, and the job was mine if I accepted. Once I had, to the squeals and excitement of my friend, she said all that was left was to go to the office and sign the paperwork.

Even though I technically had the job, I still felt nervous. Like I was waiting to go into an interview. I had a job for people I hadn’t met. I didn’t know where we would be going, when we would leave, anything. Taylor knew none of the answers to my questions, which annoyed me. She just told me it would be worked out at the meeting which I now sat nervously waiting for.

The office was a large, stark space, with white couches, glass coffee tables, and shiny modern fixtures. A slim blonde receptionist sat behind a tall desk, her hands click away on a computer in front of her. After checking in with her, she had told me to take a seat and that “Rich” would be with me soon.

I crossed my ankles in an attempt to stop my legs from bouncing. But my hands continued their assault on the hem of my top. I had brought my portfolio with me, unsure if they would need to see it again, or what was expected. Taylor had given it back to me just before she had told me about the job.

I still couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. I had called Brenda, my manager at the hospital, the night after I had spoken to Taylor, and told her of the opportunity presented to me. She was ecstatic. She agreed with Taylor, that it was an amazing opportunity. She granted me a leave of absence before I had actually asked for it on the premise that I brought her back a cute british boy.

My family was more cautious. I came by my reluctance honestly, as no one in my family was particular adventurous. The most daring thing any of us had ever done was when my grandparents had left Scotland back in the 1950’s to come to the US. They agreed that it was a great opportunity, and encouraged me to do ‘what I thought was best’. But I could tell that they were concerned that I was picking up my life, leaving my job, and running off with a band.

It was like every parents nightmare come true. Expect in this scenario I was getting paid.

My stomach twisted nervously when I heard a deep voice call my name.

“Dylan Page?”

I almost jumped at the sound. I stood quickly, grabbing my messenger bag and slinging it over my shoulder as I met eyes with the owner of the voice.

He was a short, middle aged man, with jet black hair and seemingly black eyes. His face was warm and inviting, his middle wide and round. He looked like a chubby Elvis.

Walking up to him, I accepted the hand he offered to me. He shook my hand firmly, gesturing for me to follow him into his office. “Im Rich Hughes.” He introduced himself as he guided me through the glass doors.

The office was what I was expecting, if I had actually put any thought into my expectations. Light carpet, large dark desk backed with various impressive looking photos of celebrities and shiny albums. Taking a seat in the chair Rich offered, I crossed my ankles in an attempt to keep my legs still as he crossed over to his side of the desk.

“So, Harry tells me that you’ve accepted our little offer.” He started as he sat in the plush black chair, folding his hands in front of him on the desk. His smile was warm, his eyes, upon closer inspection, a dark brown.

“It was a very hard offer to refuse.” I admitted, clasping my hands together to keep myself from fidgeting. “It is a great opportunity.”

“It is,” he agreed. “I think you will really enjoy yourself.”

I smiled in response. I still doubted their decision to hire me. I was not a professional photographer. It was a hobby. Surely they would be better with someone more experienced.

“We all agree that you are perfect for this,” Rich stated, as if reading my racing thoughts. “The images Harry showed us were excellent. You had a nice variety, but we especially loved the candid images. You have a way of capturing the essence of people, Dylan, and that is what we want to bring to the fans. We want them to feel like they can really know the guys. Give them the inside view, so to speak. We want someone fresh, someone young. Someone who can understand what the fans would want to see, and can capture that moment.”

“Thank you,” I replied, my voice dry. “I just hope I can live up to your expectations.”

“Im sure you will. Harry speaks very highly of you.” He grinned.

I smiled, feeling an embarrassed blush color my cheeks.

“So, shall we go over the details?” Rich said, pulling out a foler of papers from a drawer in the desk.

The next hour was overwhelming to say the least. We went over the dates for the tour, which would begin the next week, and end in late November. Eight months on the road. It was a hectic schedule. Over a hundred and fifty shows, touring through Europe and the US. There were breaks in the itinerary often, Rich explaining that the boys needed breaks to keep them well. The road was tough, he assured me. Of that I had no doubt.

We went over my contract, which was fairly basic. I explained I had already taken a leave of absence from my job, and that the only other concern would be my schooling.

“That wont be a problem,” Rich assured me. “You will have plenty of time to work on that beyond your job with us. Im sure the guys don’t want a camera in their face twenty four hours a day.” He laughed, but I felt myself grow nervous. I didn’t even know these guys and I was supposed to follow them around like a papparazi? They were going to hate me.

When the meeting finally ended, my head was spinning slightly. Rich provided me with countless paperwork for my own records, a copy of my contract, itinerary, concepts for images they were looking to get, and the like. It was starting to feel very real then.

“So, as long as you don’t have any questions, I think we are done here, Dylan.” Rich said, sliding the last signed page back into the folder.

“Im sure I will have lots, but for now I think Im good.” I admitted. I was still nervous, but Rich was very open, and set my mind at ease regarding the drastic change I was about to embark on.

“Well, feel free to contact me any time,” he continued. “And we will see you in London on the 26th.”

I nodded in agreement, standing to slide my bag over my shoulder. Rich lead me from his office and back into the large waiting area. Just as we stepped into the room, the elevator doors at the far end opened, allowing 5 young men to slide out.

“Ah, perfect timing.” Rich said with a smile, his hand reaching out to the newcomers. “Dylan, these are the young men you will be spending so much time with over the next few months. Guys, this is Dylan. Your new tour photographer.”

I immediately recognized Harry, his familiar dark curls and cheeky grin settling my nerves. He stepped away from his friends to envelope me in a hug.

“Taylor wont stop bragging about how she convinced you to do this.” He mumbled in my ear. I couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled back and stepped aside to introduce the rest of the group in front of me. “This is Louis, Liam, Zayn and Niall. Lads, this is Dylan. Be nice to her, or Taylor will kick my ass.”

“Right she will.” Answered a tall, slender guy with brown hair and blue eyes. Stepping up to hold his hand out to me, he smiled. “Im Louis, and Im much better company than Harry.”

Accepting the hand offered, I laughed. “That’s good to know.”

Liam and Zayn both stepped up and shook my hand, each stating that they were in turn better company than Louis.

“And just so you’re day will keep getting better, Im Niall.” A blonde boy with incredible blue eyes and thick Irish accent stepped up and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I was a little shocked at the gesture, especially since I had just met him. It took me a moment before I returned the hug, much more hesitant than him. I could feel the warmth rising in my cheeks. I always blushed when I was flustered. Or nervous. Or scared. Or happy. Pretty much always.

Stepping back to join his friends, Niall grinned cheekily at me. I averted my gaze to Harry, who was the only familiar face in this crowd. He had a smirk on his face that made my cheeks flame brighter.

I was seriously considering letting Taylor kick his ass.

“Well, lads, shall we go over a few things and let Dylan be on her way?” Rich interrupted, much to my gratitude.

With a wave from each of them, they stepped into Rich’s office while I climbed into the elevator. Turning back around to face the office, I watched Niall step through the door with a grin in my direction.

My cheeks blazed the whole way home. 

 

I threw the clothes on the bed in frustration, huffing loudly.

“Good, idea, lets get this done so we can eat.” Taylor said, grabbing an armful of clothes and throwing them into my suitcase.

“Oh shut up.” I snapped back, climbing onto my band and curling up in the pile of clothes.

She had come over earlier that afternoon to help me pack. I would be leaving for London in 2 days, and still hadn’t packed. I hated packing, and she knew it. I had no idea what to pack for something like this, especially since I would be gone so long. My camera equipment, MacBook, and school binders were already packed in a suitcase in the front hall of my apartment. A small carry on bag with carried my ebook reader, a small camera, and a few necessity sat open on the floor beside it, handy for when I thought of something else I may need on the plane. My clothes, on the other hand, were not so easy to plan.

That is where Taylor comes in.

Having been on the road almost constantly for the last several years, she was my go-to-girl for this particular job. Before her arrival, my suitcase had sat empty on the floor of my bedroom for 4 days. I looked out my favorite jeans and a couple pairs of underwear. That was as far as I had gotten.

Shaking her head in disgust, Taylor stepped purposefully into my walk in closet and started rummaging through my clothes. Occasionally she would find something that belonged to her, bitch about how she had been looking for it for weeks, before throwing it into my suitcase.

We had been at it for over an hour, and my frustration was increasing. Partly because Taylor kept insisting on me bringing items I felt certain I had no use for.

“What the hell would I need that for?” I asked incredulously as Taylor held up a short black strapless dress. I had worn it once on Taylors birthday, and spent most of the night tugging the hem down self consciously.

“You never know.” She shrugged, folding it and tossing it into my suitcase. “You may have a hot date.”

I snorted. “With who?”

She grinned. “You never know.”

Taylor laughed and she climbed onto the bed with me throwing herself down so our heads were angled in opposite directions. We laid there for a while, not saying anything. My feet were up in the air as I alternated between flexing and pointing my toes. Taylor just watched my feet.

“Im gonna miss you.” She said quietly, breaking the silence.

“Im gonna miss you too.” I answered. “Its gonna be weird. Me going on the road and you staying here. Its usually the other way around.”

She snickered. “Maybe now you will quit bitching that you never get to go anywhere.”

I blinding reached back to flick her. I missed, but she swatted my hand away anyway.

“We will see each other,” she continued. “I will visit Harry on the road, and you get lots of breaks to come home. Its not that long.”

I just nodded. I was starting to get scared. Where I was nervous before, fear had started to take its place. I was really doing this. I small part of me had to admit I was excited, but the dominant emotion was fear.

I wasn’t really sure why.

A knock at my door broke us from our quiet break. I raised myself up on my elbows to look at Taylor. She just shrugged before sliding off the bed, clothes falling to the floor under the influence of her butt, before going to answer it.

I flopped back onto the bed, my feet returning to their state of stretching above me. A few moments passed, and I could hear muffled voices in the living room. It was long before a tall, curly hair menace bounced into the room. Throwing himself onto my bed in the space Taylor had vacated, he began to poke at my shoulder annoyingly.

“What the hell is this,” he started, his British accent making me smirk. “Taylor said you girls were packing, not slacking.”

I swatted away his intrusive hand from my shoulder. “Bugger off, Styles, we are taking a break.”

Harrys eyebrows drew together as he looked around my messy room. Clothes were thrown everywhere, covering almost every available surface. We had packed a fair bit, but had made an awful mess in the process. I hadn’t realized how many clothes I had until today. Although, admittedly, probably half of them were Taylors. I was certain if I looked in her closet, half the clothes would be mine.

“It looks like a bloody bomb went off in here.” He said, flipping himself onto his side.

I ignored him as Taylor entered the room, followed closely by Niall. I raised up on my elbows again, immediately embarrassed that someone I didn’t even know was seeing my room in such a state. Our eyes met, and he smiled. I gave a weak wave in return.

“Although,” Harry continued “these are quite sexy.” He said as he held up a pair of black lace underwear.

I jumped up and snacked my knickers from his hand, pushing him back down to the bed. “Harry! You ass!”

He burst out laughing, as I threw the underwear into my suitcase.

“Don’t be embarrassed, love,” he said sliding off the bed, bringing more clothes onto the floor in the process. Walking into my closet, he called over his shoulder. “They’re hot. Right Nialler?”

My eyes fell to Niall as he followed Harry into my closet. “I think helping pack is a brilliant idea.” He shot me a cheeky grin as he joined Harry, the two boys now rummaging through the few items of clothing left in my closet.

My eyes shot to Taylor in a pleading look.

Taking pity on me, she grinned. “Hey guys, wanna order dinner?”

Both boys heads popped out of my closet at the same time. It would have been comical if I hadn’t been so mortified.

“Chinese?” Harry called.

“Pizza?” was Nialls choice.

Taylor turned to leave my room, motioning with her finger for them to follow. “Lets see what takeout menus we can find.”

I breathed an audible sigh of relief when both boys followed her into the kitchen in search of menus.


	3. Chapter 3

I watched the flight attendant as she went through the pre flight shpeil.

“In case of evacuation, the emergency exits are…”

I turned to look out the window of the plane. It was growing dark outside, the sun setting behind the hills as the lights of the city flickered to life. I watched shadowy figures scurrying around the tarmac in preparation for our departure.

This was it. I was headed to London to spend the next 8 months touring. Excitement was beginning to bubble a little more forcefully that my previous fear. I think partly because I had gotten to know the guys a little better. Well, Harry and Niall at least.

We had spent that evening sitting around my apartment, eating and talking. They told me stories from the road, helping me learn what to expect.

“The crowds are loud.” Niall said, leaning back in the arm chair he occupied. “And the fans can be a little crazy.”

“But it will be fine.” Taylor reassured me, tossing her pizza crust onto the box. “They just want to get their hands on the guys.”

“And who could blame them?” Harry said with a smirk as he threw his feet up on my table.

I rolled my eyes at him. I sat on the floor, my legs curled under me, leaning against the love seat behind me. Taylor always bugged me about my preference for sitting on the floor even though there were much more comfortable options available, but I couldn’t help it. It was a habit.

“Hey,” Niall called, leaning forward to stand from his chair. Walking over to the corner beside the bookshelf, he picked up the item that had caught his eye. “I didn’t know you played.”

“I don’t,” I answered, watching him as he returned to his seat with my guitar in his hand. “Taylor got it for me for my birthday with the promise she would teach me. Im still waiting. “I shot her a look, which prompted her to stick her tongue out at me.

Niall placed the guitar on his beg, his hands finding their place on the strings. He started strumming lightly, not really playing anything in particular. After a few moments, he looked up at me. “I can teach you.”

I just stared in response. “Um, sure.” I finally responded.

He grinned before looking back down and returning to the strumming on the guitar. I watched him for a few moments, before noticing Taylor elbow Harry with a smirk.

If I had something to throw at her without hitting Harry, I would have. She was always trying to set me up with guys, and I had never let her. She meant well, but I was NOT interested in getting involved with anyone at the moment. I had ended a 3 year relationship shortly after graduating 2 years ago, and had no interest in starting anything new. I was much more comfortable on my own, and admittedly, the sting from my previous relationship was still there. Being cheated on is never fun.

I shot her a look to remind her of that fact. She slide her gaze past mine, expertly avoiding my glare.

I had also found out that night that the guys would all be returning to London on the same flight as me. They had recorded a song while in LA, and done a few interviews in preparation for the tour, and now it was time to return home for a few rehearsals before the tour officially began.

I had already found my seat on the plane when the 5 guys had clamored aboard. They had gotten on at the very last minute to avoid any run in with fans or photographers. Each of them reached over and hugged me as they boarded, bickering with each other as they tried to stow their carry ons and find their seats. We were all seated sporadically in the first class area, with me seated against the window and Louis next to me at the isle. An empty seat sat between us, which he admitted he would use to spread out and nap during the flight. I figured this meant my lap would be his pillow.

Harry and Liam sat in the seats across the isle from Louis and I, with Liam behind us, and Niall behind them. A few other members of their group sat amongst the group, but for the most part, the first class section was our collection of people. I wondered if this was intentional or a coincidence.

The flight attendant finished her speech, turning to find her seat at the front of the plane. The engines hummed louder as we pulled away from the gate and taxied towards the runway.

My phone buzzed in my lap, breaking my attention from watching the airport grow smaller. Looking at the screen, I smiled at the message.

Taylor: “have fun. Miss you already.


	4. Chapter 4

The next several days passed in a blur of new faces, schedules, plans and fans.

We arrived in the early morning hours into London, immediately being ushered into a van and transferred to a hotel. Although each of the guys had homes in London, the hotel was only blocks from the venue and made the next few days of rehearsal and final preparation easier.

I was exhausted. After finally having some space to myself once removing Louis from my lap with the help of Zayn, I was able to get a few hours of light sleep. But it wasn’t restful. It actually made me feel worse. I love sleep. I could sleep all day, every day if I was able. Some people were able to function on just a quick cat nap, but I was NOT one of these people. I should have known better, but I was so tired on the plane I just let myself drift off.

Once we reached the hotel, we quickly deposited our bags and headed off to the venue. By the time we reached our final destination, it was after nine in the morning.

The guys were rushed off to go over some rehearsal details, while I was introduced to Paul, the tour manager, and taken around to meet other members of the team and see the venue. It was all quite overwhelming, my nerves rising in my stomach again. Everyone was warm and friendly, and I was given more than one warning regarding the boys tendency to play pranks and their general debauchery.

I watched a quick rehearsal, this having been the first time I had ever really heard the guys sing. Of course, I had heard the occasional song on the radio, but never consciously equated it with the five I saw on the stage now, who seemed more interested in trying to push each other over the edge of the stage than singing.

I learned quite a bit over these few days. I learned many of their songs, after a while able to at least sing along with the chorus if nothing else. I learned the names of almost everyone else on the team, which I was quite proud of since I was usually horrible with names. I learned that the warnings I had received during my initial meetings with the team were true, witnessing fruit fights, Harry jumping out of recycle bins in an attempt to scare Louis, their hair stylist, and Louis running down the halls screaming like a maniac, Liam hot in his heels with a water gun.

I learned that I was having the time of my life already, and we hadn’t even left yet. Everyone was easy to get along with, there was never a dull moment, and I found myself at ease quickly. I was usually a reserved person, taking quite a while to get comfortable enough with new people to be myself and joke around. But I was surprised to find that within a short time I was taking part in some of the debauchery around me, even supplying Harry with fruit to throw at Zayn.

I also learned quite quickly to never leave my camera unattended.

I brought it with me to rehearsal, figuring I would get an early start and get the feel for how things were going to go. Adjusting settings, observing light and such now would help me once we were out on the road. I had taken a few shots, careful to be discrete and non intrusive with my images as to not annoy the guys, but also to get them in their most natural states. I was happy with a lot of the shots I had gotten that morning, setting my camera down on the table in their dressing room and going to find something to eat.

I came back a short time later, my camera still on the table. I thought nothing of it, until I got back to the hotel and downloaded the images onto my laptop.

Scrolling through, I was quite pleased with the ones I had taken. Some of them rehearsing, some of them bickering and playing around with members of their team, even one of Zayn catching a nap on the couch.

Then I got to some images I knew for a fact I hadn’t taken.

The first was of Harry, staring blatantly into the camera, a cheeky grin on his face, his hands on his hips in what I assumed an attempt to pose. The next was a shot of someone’s bare bum. A pair of feet clad in gray socks. A blurry hand trying to push the camera away, a close up of an ear. The images continued on their random trail, the last being a close up of a pair of incredibly blue eyes. It was actually a really good picture, the eyes perfectly sharp, every fleck and reflection noticeable.

Just then my phone vibrated on the bed beside me. Picking it up, I smiled at the message.

Harry: Get any good pictures today? ;)

I quickly typed back.

Me: You guys are dicks.

I could hear him laughing from his room, which was next to mine.

Harry: I thought we did a good job!

Me: Don’t quite your day job, Styles

Harry: :p

I could hear muffled chatter through the wall coming from Harrys room. Suddenly there was a knock at my door. I slid off the bed, thankful that I hadn’t changed into my pajamas yet and still had on my jeans and t-shirt. Opening the door, I found Harry, Louis and Niall there, all grinning proudly.

I leaned against the doorframe, shaking my head at them.

“Can I help you, boys?”

Harry wasted no time sliding past me and into the room. Louis and Niall followed, Niall reaching around to smack my butt as he walked passed. I yelped as I closed the door, shooting them a dirty look.

They jumped onto my bed, pulling my laptop towards them to scan through the photos.

‘Make yourselves at home’ I thought to myself sarcastically.

Harry lay on is stomach, with Louis on his side beside him as they flipped through the photos. Niall sat cross legged on the bed, laughing occasionally at some of the images they found. I stood at the foot of the bed watching them, slightly nervous for some reason. This was the first time they would be seeing the kind of work they would be getting from me, so their reaction was important. Thankfully, they seemed pleased, Louis even stating he wanted a couple of them for his twitter account.

Niall reached over to my bedside table, plucking my camera from the top. Flicking it on, he started playing with the settings, looking through the lens around the room.

I couldn’t help but grin at them. They were all so comfortable, completely at ease with themselves and their surroundings. Very little seemed to bother them, and that sense of calm was refreshing to me. I was used to hectic, insanity thanks to my time in the ER, so a relaxing work environment was a nice change.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of the camera clicking. I turned to find Niall taking a picture of me, his grin wide across his face. Lowering the camera, his eyes stayed on me, looking please with himself.

I stepped up, climbing on the bed to snatch the camera from him.

“Oh, no, that’s not how this works.” I said, reaching to take the camera away. He pulled it quickly behind his back, out of my reach.

“Why not?” he asked innocently. “Its only fair.”

“Too bad,” I argued, trying to reach around him as he laid back against the camera to keep me from taking it. I was on all fours, one arm trying to reach around one side of Niall, the other holding me up. We were almost touching, the smell of his cologne attacking my senses. “I hate my picture taken.” I replied, my voice almost cracking.

“Oh please,” Louis interrupted, pushing the laptop back and reaching passed Harry to join in the match between Niall and I. “You’re gorgeous, you probably take amazing pics.” Louis reached under Niall, sliding the camera away from him and quickly jumping back to the other side of Harry and out of my reach again.

“She does,” Harry interjected, his attention no longer on the laptop. His feet crossed at the ankles up in the air, swinging back and forth. “Taylor showed me.”

I froze, my attempt to turning to get the camera from Louis interrupted. “Taylor showed you what?”

“She showed me the pictures you let her take.” He answered with a smirk.

I could have died right there.

Months before I had let Taylor talk me into letting her give me a makeover. She did my hair, makeup, everything. She said I looked amazing. I thought I looked too overdone. I almost never wore makeup past the basic lip gloss, so any time I had anything more than that, I felt like a show girl. She had jumped up and gotten my camera, deciding to have our own little photo shoot. She pushed me against one of my bare walls, snapping away. I had to admit some of the pictures were pretty good, especially since she had no idea what she was doing with my camera, but I still hated to see myself on film. My eyes looked larger, rimmed with dark liner, and light shadow. My cheekbones looked more defined thanks to the dusting of blusher, and my lips were red, a stark contrast to my pale skin. It was probably the best I had ever looked, but I was still uncomfortable and made her promise to never show anyone. My place was behind the camera, not in front of it.

I fell back onto my heels on the bed. “Im going to fucking kill her.”

Harry laughed. “Why? They were amazing. Really sexy.”

I hid my face in my hands. Ugh. She was so dead.

My rage at my soon to be deceased friend was again interrupted my the click of my camera. I pulled my hands down to find Louis now taking charge, standing at the edge of the bed, the camera at his eye.

“Work with me, love,” he cooed, changing the angle of the lens. “Show me sexy.”

I started to lean forward to jump off the bed and kill him, when a pair of strong arms gripped my waist and pulled me back. I fell back into Niall, his arms pinning mine to my side, my back to his chest. He leaned his chin in the crook of my neck. My stomach tightened at the contact.

“Com’on Dylan,” he started, looking towards the camera. “Let’s show ‘im how its done, yeah?”

Louis started snapping the camera like mad, moving around the room, shouting commands. “Oh, that’s good, just there. Move your head closer. Dylan, don’t look so scared. Niall, work it bitch.”

Harry jumped up to join Niall and I. I found myself sandwiched between the two boys, Harry wrapping his arms around mine to help Niall hold me down. They were laughing maniacally, obviously proud of themselves as I struggled against them.

“Im SO gonna kill you guys! LOUIS! Give me the damn camera!”

Harry kissed me on the cheek, Louis snapping the camera more. Niall took his lead, kissing my other cheek. Now I was smushed between them, Louis practically dancing around the room as he shot the camera.

Finally I was able to get an arm free, pinching Harry hard on the arm. He jumped back, gripping the sore spot with a laugh while I pulled away from Niall, slipping from his grasp. I slid off the bed, practically jumping on Louis and taking the camera back.

“You just wait,” I threatened. “It’s a long 8 months, and I have plenty of time for payback!” I kicked at Louis as he jumped towards the bed.

“Please,” he crooned. “I think I got some good stuff there. Definitely Vogue material”

I rolled my eyes. “Ok, out. All of you.”

They laughed, sliding off the bed, and towards the door.

“Night, love!” Harry called, Niall and Louis waving as they followed.

When the door safely clicked behind them, I flopped onto the bed. I slid the memory card out of my camera and into my laptop, planning on erasing any proof the last fifteen minutes. Flipping through the pictures, I laughed. The look on my face in most of them was NOT impressive. The first one that Niall had taken of me watching Louis and Harry was actually good. My was grinning lightly, my skin clear and eyes bright. It was actually a nice picture, if it hadn’t been of me. Most of the ones Louis had taken were blurry, partly because of my struggling against the arms around me. But there was one of Niall and I, his head in the crook of my head, his arms around my middle, and my head tilted slightly towards his. If I hadn’t known better, it would have looked like I wasn’t being held captive. I had a smile on my face, Niall grinning in a laugh. It was sweet. I found myself smiling.

I slid the image over to my saved folder, choosing to erase the rest. There as no need to have any ammo for them to get ahold of, since they obviously had no problem going through my laptop.

Closing down the computer, I quickly changed and slid into bed. I was still trying to catch up on sleep from the flight, plus the time change, and suddenly found myself impossibly tired.

I drifted off to sleep as I couldn’t help the memory of the feeling of Nialls arms holding me tight creep in.


	5. Chapter 5

The day of the first show at the 02 arena in London to kick off the tour arrived before I knew it. The last few days had been a learning curve, but it had been incredible. With the exception of the occasional prank from the guys, and them telling EVERYONE about their new found photographic skills (and Niall stealing the photo of the two of us off my computer the next night with the help of Harry), I was having the time of my life and we hadn’t even left yet.

The morning before the show I decided to take a small tour of London. I had never been, so decided to take this chance to see the sights. The guys were relaxing for the morning, knowing that the next several months would be busy, hectic and draining. Everyone still seemed to be in bed when I got up early and headed out into the cool morning air.

There were a few fans outside the hotel, even at this early hour, but they didn’t pay me any mind as I scurried past them and down the street. Liam had told me a few days before that as the tour went on, the fans would probably come to know me. They seemed to have their ways of knowing everyone associated with the band, and he warned me that it may become for difficult for me to go out and tour the cities that we visited. I found this hard to believe, but decided to take advantage of my mediocrity while I could.

I had looked up a few places the night before on my laptop that I wanted to see. Of course there were the obvious choices, Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the like. I decided to hop on one of the bus tours, then just wander the streets for a while. I didn’t have to be back at the hotel until almost three that afternoon, which gave me plenty of time to sight see.

I hurried along to the starting point of a bus tour that I had searched the night before, climbing aboard after paying my fair. I had my camera slung over my shoulder, and took a seat on the top deck of the big red bus. There were more people on the tour than I expected for an early Thursday morning.

I loved every minute of the tour. It was fun being a dorky tourist, snapping pictures of everything I could as we drove by. I didn’t get off the bus and walk around like some of the other tourists did. I just enjoyed the drive and the sights and the cool morning air.

The tour ended shortly after the noon hour, and after a quick bite to eat at a small pub, I started walking back towards the hotel, deciding to take random streets, using my phone as a map. I had only been walking a short time when my phone vibrated in my pocket. Retrieving it, I glanced at the message.

Niall: where are you?

I smirked, remembering that on the plane ride to London the guys had gotten ahold of my cell phone and put all their numbers, plus their moms numbers in my phone. Why I needed their mothers phone numbers I didn’t know, but Taylor said it may come in handy if they pissed me off later on the tour.

I typed my reply.

Me: being a tourist :)

Niall: ??

Me: I wanted to tour the city, so Im doing some sight seeing.

Niall: You should have said something. I would have gone with you.

I paused at this, not sure how to respond. I felt a flutter in my stomach, but quickly pushed it aside. He was just being nice, I told myself. I could see that Niall had continued typing.

Niall: so you didn’t get lost and all

I laughed out loud.

Me: Im fine. I have my phone. I will be back soon.

Niall: K

Sliding my phone back in my pocket, I continued my slow trek back to the hotel.

I found myself thinking about the guys, Niall in particular. I had spoke to Taylor a couple days after my arrival, just to check in and let her know how things were going. She didn’t waste any time asking how I was getting along with the guys.

“Fine” I had said, flopping back on the bed.

“Anyone catch your eye?” she said, and I swear I could hear the grin on her face through the phone.

“Um, no.” I said, rolling my eyes as if she could see me. “Business, not pleasure, Tay.”

She snorted delicately. “Whatever. You’re going to be with them for the better part of this year. Who’s to say you wont get a little pleasure in the meantime?”

God she was a dirty minded girl when she wanted to be.

“Do I need to remind you that they all have girlfriends?” I defended, having learned that the day after my arrival. I had met Louis and Zayns girlfriends, Eleanor and Perrie the day after we got to London. Both girls were incredibly sweet, and completely stunning. My self esteem took a hit just being in the same room as them.

“Niall doesn’t.” she reminded me quickly.

I smirked. “Irrelevant, Taylor. Guys like them date girls like you, not girls like me.”

“Ugh, stop being an idiot.” She spat. “There is no difference between you and me. The guys think you’re hot. Harry said so.”

I rolled my eyes again, but didn’t respond out loud.

“Niall thinks you’re gorgeous.” She continued when my silence slid on.

“Whatever,” I quickly added, eager to change the subject. “Topic change please. So how is the recording going?”

I didn’t want to continue on this topic, because 1) I was a firm believer in not mixing business with pleasure, 2) she was definitely full of shit, and 3) the idea of Niall being attracted to me made my stomach flip. So I went to my default tactic….avoid and distract.

“Good,” she started, picking up on my topic change. “Got another track done. I will send it to you once I get the final copy.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t like Niall. I adored him. He was funny, charming, and knee weakeningly attractive. His accent always seemed to make me melt, and his laugh was honestly the funniest sound I had ever heard. But like I told Taylor, guys like him didn’t go for girls like me. And I didn’t want to get any blurred lines as to what my job was on this tour.

Turning the last corner to reach the entrance to the hotel, I found that the number of fans outside had tripled. They were all talking excitedly, the occasional squeal of delight and anticipation erupting from the crowd. I got a little nervous as I approached, trying to be casual as I passed them and into the lobby. I noticed a few watch me intently, as if trying to decide if I was part of the 1D entourage. Since no one knew I had anything to do with the tour, I was not interrupted on my mission to return to my room.

Finally returning to the comforts of my room, I tossed my camera on the bed, stripping off my jacket and shoes. I decided on a quick shower before having to go to the venue, since I had a little over an hour before I had to meet the rest of the team.

After my shower, I downloaded my tourist photos onto my computer, clearing the memory card for tonight. Tonight was when my job officially started, so I threw an extra battery in my bag and flaked out on the bed to relax for a few minutes.

My phone vibrated on the table beside me after only a few minutes.

Niall: you back?

Me: yup. Safe and sound.

Niall: K

I shook my head. I had to admit it was sweet that he was being slightly protective, but I reminded myself that that wasn’t his job. I couldn’t let myself get caught up in anything, regardless of what Taylor thought.

A knock on my door half an hour later lifted me from my mind wandering. I found Paul on the other side, gathering everyone to head to the venue. Grabbing my camera bag, phone and wallet, I followed him out and down the hall where many other members of the team were gathered by the elevator. Liam and Zayn were already there, smiling in greeting. A loud bang from down the hall made everyone turn, to find Louis and Harry tackling each other as they raced to the group at the elevator. Niall followed with a grin, watching his friends as they fell in a heap at our feet.

After picking Louis and Harry both up as if they weighed nothing, Paul practically tossed them into the elevator. We all slid in, and I found myself crushed in the back beside Liam, with my back almost flush against Niall. The doors closed, with Harry and Louis still bickering like an old married couple about something to do with cheese.

“How was playing tourist?” a Irish voice asked in my ear. His breath tickled my neck, sending shivers down my spine. I tried to take a small step forward, but there was no room with Zayn in front of me talking with Louise.

“Good, thanks.” I answered, not turning around. My voice cracked slightly, and I mentally cursed myself.

“Next time you should take someone with you.” He continued. “Just incase.”

This caused me to turn my head, glancing at him over my shoulder. I met his blue eyes.

“Incase what?”

He shrugged, and I could tell he was trying not to grin.

Ass.

I turned back to the front, willing the elevator to hurry the fuck up. As if it heard my silence plea, the bell dinged, and we all piled out into the basement parking lot and toward the vans. I quickly slid into the first van with Liam, Zayn, Louise, Paul and a couple members of security.

Once at the venue, we passed through the gates that were practically covered by fans. Screaming, signs, posters and every type of merchandise with the guys faces on it could be seen everywhere I looked. I had been to concerts, and had seen the hype and excitement, but this was something different entirely. This was crazy.

Once inside, everyone scattered to prepare for the show. You could feel the excitement in the air. It was almost palpable. The guys went to their dressing room, while the team all went to their respective places to ensure everything would run smoothly.

It didn’t take long for the guys to get bored and start causing trouble. With only fifteen minutes to show time, I could hear Paul yelling down the hall at Harry to get to the stage, Louis slung under his arm, and Zayn held tightly by the collar of his shirt. It was like rounding up a group of hyper children on Red Bull.

I took as many pictures as I could, considering I practically had to chase them around to get their photo. The only place they seemed to hold still was the hair and makeup room, only because Liam said that Louise would shave their heads if they pissed her off. Harry tried to hug her, and she replied with a saucy “Don’t touch me, Styles!” Causing him to squeeze her tightly and run away before she could hit him with her brush.

The sound of the crowd was deafening, and the boys weren’t even on stage yet. The excited sound of teenage hormones was reverberating across the walls. I could feel it in my chest.

I took my place with a couple other team members on the stage side of the first row barricade to take a few in concert shots once the lights went down. The fans couldn’t really see us from this vantage point, with the exception of the few that sat directly behind us.

The moment the arena went dark, the sound was ear splitting. No one scream was separated from the rest, it was just a complete blur of white noise excitement. I almost had to cover my ears the sound was so loud.

Within minutes, the music started, and the guys jumped on stage. I didn’t think it was possible, but the screaming got louder. I took a few shots of each song, trying to get each guy whenever they came close enough for my lens to focus. They ran around, jumped, threw things at each other, wrestled and joked through the whole show. It was like nothing I had seen before, but it was incredible.

I found myself enjoying my first One Direction concert experience, even though I was certain I would be deaf by the time the night was over. I remembered Louis saying something about thinking he was going deaf from the screaming. I had laughed at him at the time, but now completely understood, and agreed, with his belief.

Things slowed down, while the guys took their places to sing “Little Things”. The crowd sang along, knowing every word. I found myself mouthing the words along with them, having learned them from watching them rehearse over the last few days.

I snapped photos as quickly as I could, since it was rare that the boys were still long enough for me to catch a shot. I zoomed in on Niall just as his solo started, and found him watching me in return. I lowered my camera after a few shots, his eyes still locked on me. They never moved as he sang, making me tense and fluttery. I felt like an idiot, and quickly looked down at my camera to break his gaze. I waited until they were into the chorus before looking up again, only to find him grinning.

I sighed. I started to think he was trying to break me.


	6. Chapter 6

The next couple of weeks went by in a blur. After three sold out shows in London, we headed to Scotland, Wales, and then to Ireland. Niall was noticeably excited to be back home in Ireland, practically jumping around on the bus as we arrived.

Mostly I rode on the bus with members of the team, with the boys having their own bus. But occasionally they would pull me on with them, saying it was nice having someone close to their age to hang out with. I was twenty four, so I guess I was the closest thing they had to someone their age on their team. Bus hopping was common, with everyone switching up on occasion at various rest stops.

Sitting in the back lounge of the guys bus with Harry, Louis and Liam, we were playing a game of cards when Niall came running into the back.

“IRELAND! WOOHOO!” He shouted before jumping onto the couch like a child. He almost tipped over Harrys drink, causing him to drop some of his cards.

“Dammit, Niall!” Harry whined, picking up his cards quickly as Louis tried to take a peak. “Don’t be such a tosser!”

Niall ignored him, coming to sit beside me on the couch, and twisting to lay down with his head in my lap. What was it with these boys and just making themselves comfortable on my body?

I looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Can I help you, Nialler?”

He smiled cheekily up at me, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Don’t ask him that, Dylan.” Liam chimed in, tossing two cards down and picking up two replacements while Harry still tried to figure his cards out since Nialls little interruption. “He will end up saying something cheeky.”

Niall nodded in agreement, before reaching up and snatching my cards from my hand.

“Excuse me!” I complained, trying to take them back. He wouldn’t let go.

“I wanna play too.” He whined. “What are we playing?”

“Poker.” Harry answered, pushing Louis away from him when he tried to look at his cards again.

“Strip poker?” Niall asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“No,” I answered quickly, before Louis had the chance. “Don’t be dirty.”

Niall just smiled, pleased with himself. He was obviously excited to be back home, and was feeling particularly cheeky.

Giving up getting my cards back, I leaned back on the couch, Nialls head still in my lap. I watched them play for a little while, laughing when Harry would bite his lip when he tried to bluff, or Louis would stick his tongue out in concentration. This lasted for almost twenty minutes before Liams voice gained my attention.

“Good job,” he said to me, smiling as he turned back to his cards. “Distract Niall so he wont win. He always bloody wins when we play cards.”

I gave him a quizzical look before looking down at Niall to find that my hand had been absentmindedly playing with his hair. I hadn’t even realized I was doing it. Niall obviously didn’t mind though. His eyes were closed, his hands folded over his chest, the cards beneath them. He looked rather peaceful, a slight smile on his lips.

“Shut up Payno.” Niall said, not opening his eyes. “She might stop.”

I pulled my hand away, only to have Niall reach up and bring it back to his hair. I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“He fucking loves when girls play with his hair.” Liam added, tossing another card onto the table. “Its his turn on.”

My hand immediately stilled in his soft blonde hair, my eyes falling to meet his. He wiggled his eyebrows at me, earning him a bop on the top of the head from me. He stuck his lip out at me for a moment before looking back to his cards. My hand returned to its travels through his hair, relishing the soft texture.

We all stayed like this until we arrived at the hotel in Dublin. Fans lined the streets at the entrance to the hotel, their excited screams audible before we had even pulled up to the door. I gathered my bag from the front of the bus while the guys grabbed a few small items. Their luggage would be brought in my their team once they were safely inside.

Sitting on the couch near the front, Paul turned to me.

“I will warn you now,” he started, looking out at the crowd of screaming girls. “The girls are going to think you’re one of the guys girlfriends.”

My eyes popped wide. “Why?”

“Because you’re getting off their bus with them.” He stated plainly. I wondered if he was annoyed, but he didn’t seem to be. He was merely stating a fact.

I felt myself tense. Shit. I hadn’t thought about that. I had climbed on their bus at the last stop because Zayn wanted to draw me. I laughed at his request, but obliged. I never even gave it a second thought. It never occurred to me that getting off the bus with them may start rumors flying. I mentally cursed myself. This was just what I needed. Only two weeks in, and I had already fucked up.

“Don’t worry about it,” Zayn said, plopping down next to me. “Most of the fans are cool about things like that. Besides most of them know our girlfriends already. You’re fine.”

“Unless they assume you’re with Niall.” Harry piped up, pulling a bag along on the floor behind him with an evil grin.

I had never wanted to kick him more in my life. He had obviously been talking to Taylor.

“Hey,” Niall complained, pulling on his shoes. “She could do a lot worse! They could think shes with you, Hazza! Then not only would Taylor kick your ass, Dylans rep would be ruined.”

This prompted a carrot to be flung at Nialls head by Harry.

The bus pulled up to a stop in front of the hotel doors. Barricades kept the fans back, leaving a path for the guys to enter the hotel without losing a limb. They gathered their items, the bus door opening to allow three members of their security team to board and prep for the entrance. I felt myself getting tense and nervous. This was my first real encounter like this. Not only was this the largest amount of fans we had met at a hotel, I was getting of the guys bus with them.

Ugh. I was a fucking idiot.

I stepped up behind Zayn, getting ready to disembark the bus. I slung my bag over my shoulder, crossing my arms over my chest, when I felt a hand at my hip.

“You’ll be fine.” Nialls voice whispered in my ear. His thumb touched the bare skin between the hem of by shirt and the top of my jeans. The contact caused my already tense stomach to tighten further.

I nodded in response.

He didn’t remove his hand as we shuffled forward towards the door. Once at the top step, I watched Zayn, lead my Steve, one of the security, step down and into the screaming crowd. I followed, my feet stepping forward on their own will, and landed on the pavement. The screams died down when the girls noticed I wasn’t one of their idols. I took a few steps forward, my eyes ahead, glued to the back of Zayns head in front of me. I could feel the fans eyes on me, almost hear their minds buzzing. Who was this girl? Was she one of their girlfriends? Why was she getting of their bus?

I felt a hand return to my hip, nudging me forward. I didn’t need to look back to know who it was. I let Niall push me forward towards the hotel, keeping my eyes trained on Zayn. My heart thudded in my chest, partly from nerves, and partly from Nialls contact.

Once inside, I stepped away from Nialls touch and towards Steve and Zayn. Liam was with them, waiting at the elevator. Louis and Harry met up with us quickly, and we all piled into the elevator and escaped the screams.

Once the doors closed, Harry smiled at me. “See, wasn’t so bad, yeah?”

I nodded tensely.

I took a step towards Liam, which in turn stepped me slightly away from Niall. I had an urge to get some space from him suddenly. Although he hadn’t done anything in particular, I found myself hyper-aware of him.

Paul handed out our room keys once we arrived on the floor, and we dispersed towards our respective rooms. Mine was between Zayn and Louis, with Harry and Niall across the hall. Liam was at the far end, shouting back that maybe now he would get a good nights sleep without Harry shouting and Louis banging on the wall at midnight.

Stepping into my room, I closed the door quickly and leaned against it. I stood there for a few seconds, before stepping further into the room to throw my bag on the bed and strip off my shoes. A knock at the door brought me back, and I half expected to find Niall there for some reason. Looking through the peep hole I found Walter, another member of security. Opening the door, I found he was dropping off my bag. I thanked him profusely, apologizing that he had to bring it up for me since I was on the wrong bus. He assured me it was fine, giving me a warm smile before heading off down the hall again.

I threw the case on the floor by the TV stand, my camera bag on top. I tossed myself on the bed, pulling a pillow to tuck beneath my head. I inhaled the freshly laundered scent, closing my eyes.

I could still faintly hear the sounds of the fans on the street below. Reaching around to my back pocket I pulled out my phone. I called my mom, letting her know we were now in Dublin. I had promised to check in once we arrived in each new city. I gave her a quick update, telling her I was having a great time, and that everyone was really nice. I told her it was honestly the best job in the world, and meant it whole heartedly. After hanging up from my mother, I gave a quick text to Maui, my closest friend from University back in LA, and Taylor, to let them both know we made it to Dublin in one piece. Taylor texted back almost immediately.

Taylor: Having fun?

Me: yup. Good times.

Taylor: any crazy fans yet?

I laughed out loud.

Me: Nope. Not yet. Although I think I saw one outside with a machete with Harrys face painted on it. But I cant be sure.

There was a long pause, and I knew Taylor was laughing.

Taylor: anything you wanna tell me?

I knitted my eyebrows together.

Me: like what?

Taylor: nothing ;)

I shook my head. I hated it when she did that.

A knock at my door interrupted our texting.

Me: someones at the door. I will call later.

Taylor: K. Love you.

Me: Love you too

Tossing my phone on the bed, I headed to the door thinking I would find Walter with another bad. Instead, I opened it to find Niall, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. The white and blue jersey tshirt he wore fit him closely, and I willed my eyes to stay at his.

“Hey” I said, nerves rising.

“Hey,” he grinned. “Interested in playing tourist?”

I felt my eyebrows raise in surprise. “Now?”

“Why not?” he said, pulling his hands out of his pockets. “We don’t have to be at the venue for hours. I thought I would show you ‘round.”

I swallowed loudly. “Can you do that?”

Niall laughed. “Why not?”

“Well, Im not sure if you noticed, but there is a crowd of hormonal, screaming girls downstairs who would probably just love to get their hands on that blonde hair of yours.”

Nialls smile widened. “Don’t worry, you’re the only one allowed to grab my hair.”

I could feel the rush of heat flood my face, my eyes dropping from his. I wanted to kick him. Hard.

“Com’on.” He reached out and took my hand, pulling me towards him.

“Wait, I need my stuff.” I pulled out of his grasp, retreating into my room. I needed some air, finding it impossible to breathe near him. I fumbled, collecting my phone and room key and tossing them into my bag. Pulling it over my shoulder, I turned to find Niall standing inside the door waiting.

He reached his hand out to me again as I stepped up to him. When I got close enough, he wound his fingers with mine as he ushered me through the door and towards the elevator.

My mind was racing. What was happening here? We had spent the last couple weeks together, and he had always been flirty, but this seemed a little more. I had always chalked it up to him being a flirty guy. Harry was the same. Louis as well. But today seemed different with Niall, although I couldn’t really put my finger on it. Other than the fact he was holding my hand as we waited for the elevator. Steve appeared from the room to our left, closing the door behind him.

“Don’t even think about trying to make a break for it without me, Horan.” He warned, giving Niall a hard look.

Niall groaned loudly.

“Com’on mate, we’re just going for a little walk.”

“Like I said,” Steve continued, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Not without me. Your mom would kill me if you got yourself killed by a group of fans.”

Niall grumbled something that sounded like an Irish laced profanity under his breath. The door to the elevator opened, and the three of us stepped inside.

Well, isn’t this cozy.


	7. Chapter 7

Despite Nialls obvious annoyance, I was glad to have Steve in tow with us. Partly for Nialls safety, and partly, if I was being honest with myself, because I was a little nervous to be alone with him today.

Steve guided us to a black, heavily tinted SUV, sliding in the drivers seat while Niall opened the back door for me. I hopped in before turning to see Niall climbing in behind me. Somehow I had assumed that he would take the passenger seat. He had other ideas.

I slid to the far side of the seat, quickly placing my bag on the seat between us and turning to buckle myself in to avoid his eyes. He didn’t say anything, buckling himself into the seat closest to the door. I didn’t know why I was being this way, but I was.

Well, wait, that’s a lie. I always did this. Or at least my friends told me I did. If a guy showed any interest in me, even the slightest, even if I was interested in him in return, I tended to step back. I would avoid them at times, giving myself space even if part of me didn’t want it. It was a self preservation technique, I knew. I admittedly had trust issues, stemming from my less than stellar upbringing with an alcoholic father, and my equally less than impressive dating history which included two cheaters and a guy who turned out to be gay.

I automatically assumed any guy was going to break my heart, so rather than give them the chance, I kept them at arms length. Taylor always told me this was going to be my downfall, but I would shrug her off. I was happy with my life, and didn’t need a guy to complicate things.

Unfortunately, an incredibly attractive Irish guy seemed hell bent on complicating the fuck out of all my things.

“So where to?” Steve called over his shoulder as he started the engine.

“I have three places on my list,” Niall stated, turning to flash me a melt worthy smile. He passed Steve a slip of paper, before leaning back in his seat.

Steve glanced at the page, before typing the first address into the GPS of the SUV.

“Where are we going?” I asked Niall, finally meeting his blue eyes.

“You’ll see.” He grinned.

 

 

The warm sun beat down on my face, my eyes adjusting even behind my closed eyelids. A cool breeze caused my hair to swirl across my face, strands tickling my nose as I lay on my back.

I was just about to reach up and brush them away, when another hand took over the task.

I opened my eyes under my sunglasses to turn my head to look at Niall.

He laid on his back, arms tucked beneath his head. His dark sunglasses hid his blue eyes from me, but I could tell from the small smirk on his lips that he was watching me. I turned my head back towards the sky, wiggling to adjust my position. My head was on his stomach, our bodies making a T shape in the grass.

I closed my eyes again, sighing contentedly.

Today had been amazing.

Our first stop on the “Niall Horan Dublin Tour”, as Niall had called it, had been Dublin castle. I guess I had mentioned once that I loved history and old buildings and castles, and for some reason he had remembered this fact. We toured through the beautiful building, the cold stone walls, taking us back in time. Steve followed at a distance, close enough to intervene if need be, but far enough away as to not be intrusive. I hadn’t brought my camera in my haste to leave the hotel, but Niall reminded me of the ingenious technology of our phones. We snapped pictures of each other in embarrassing, touristy poses, making fools of ourselves. We took a few selfies together, and even some of Steve looking gruff.

Niall didn’t try and hold my hand again, but occasionally would tuck my hair behind my ear, or put his hand on my hip. Small gestures that would still cause my heart to jump and sputter, but he seemed to be giving me a little more space. I felt a little guilty for this, but grateful at the same time. He seemed to have picked up on my nervousness, and was being respectful of it.

Our next stop surprised me. It wasn’t a place I expected in a tour of Dublin, but I loved it. The Gallery of Photography. A tiny place, it held photographs from local and international photographers. I laughed when we arrived, turning to give Niall a nudge on the shoulder. He shrugged. “I wanted to take you somewhere I knew you would like.”

Our final stop was by far my favorite. St Stephens Green. A expansive lawn dotted with mature trees and buildings, it reminded me a little of Central Park in New York City. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe just because it was a large lawn in the middle of a city. Either way, it was amazing.

Only a couple fans had recognized Niall, asking for photos or autographs, which he kindly obliged. Watching him with the fans was sweet. He was genuinely thankful for them, making sure to really talk to them, asking them personal questions, as if trying to really connect with each one. They would glance at me and smile, but they never asked me who I was or my relationship with Niall, which I was thankful for. I couldn’t answer them when I didn’t seem to know myself at this point.

Niall and I wandered around the green, chatting about random things, before plopping down under a tree. This is where we found ourselves now, no longer talking, just laying in the grass.

The nerves I felt around him earlier in the day were gone. I was still hyper-aware of him, but the reservations and impulse to pull away had faded. I was surprisingly confortable with him, especially considering anyone who walked by and saw us now would probably think we were a couple enjoying a little romantic rendezvous.

Steve had parked himself on a bench nearby, busying himself with a game on his iphone. I felt bad to have drug him all over the city, feeling like we should include him in our…..whatever this was. I mentioned this to him while Niall popped into a store to grab a drink.

“Don’t worry about it,” Steve said with a laugh. “I don’t mind. Besides, Niall would kill me if I crashed his date.”

I was just about to correct him, telling him this wasn’t a date, when Niall turned with three waters and a chocolate bar.

The sun kissing my skin was heavenly. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had done something like this. Since moving to LA, I was constantly going to school, working, or photo shopping. I hadn’t really realized that until now. I was always holed up in my apartment or at work, doing assignments, or planning what to shoot next. I rarely took time to sit outside and literally do nothing. I found myself wondering when the last time Niall had done something like this was.

I was just about to ask him when a shadow obstructed the sun from my face.

“We should get going, guys.” Steve said, standing over us. “You gotta work tonight, Nialler.”

Niall sighed deeply, the reflex causing his abdomen to rise and fall abruptly, taking my head with it. He laughed at my expression, as I sat up away from him. He popped himself into a standing position before reaching down to help me up. We followed Steve back towards the car, and this time, Niall kept a hold of my hand. Although the usual fluttering in my stomach returned, I didn’t have the urge to run away like I had before.

Climbing into the car, Niall slid right next to me, obviously not having any of this ‘seat between us nonsense’. He took my hand again, his thumb tracing small circles across the back as we drove. We didn’t speak, I just stared out the window while Niall talked to Steve. His hand was warm, firm. I felt small callouses on his finger tips, from his years of playing the guitar.

Pulling back into the underground parking of the hotel, we hopped into the elevator, our ride to our floor silent. Niall had let go of my hand when we had gotten out of the car, and slid his hands in his pockets instead.

“Be ready to go in half an hour, you guys.” Steve called as he stepped into his room as we disembarked on our floor.

We nodded, Niall following me to my room. I felt the butterflies in my stomach rise as I fumbled through my bag for my room key. What if Niall really thought this was a date? What if he tried to kiss me? Did I want him to kiss me? Shit, did I brush my teeth before we left?

Pulling the key from my bag, I reluctantly turned to Niall, my mind still racing.

He was smiling at me, his hands still in his pockets. His blue eyes seemed even brighter, the type of blue you could swim in.

“Thanks for today,” I managed to say. “It was a lot of fun.”

“Thanks for letting me take you.” He answered, sliding his hands out of his pockets. The action made my nerves increase as I wondered where he was planning on putting his hands next. “I’ll be honest I don’t like the idea of a girl wandering the city by herself.”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “Niall, com’on. I live in LA. Ive wandered the city on my own before.”

“I know,” he nodded, seemingly unaffected by my laughing at him. “Still, I feel better when Im with you.”

My stomach tightened at his comment. Did he mean he felt better knowing I wasn’t out in the city alone, or that in general he felt better when he was with me?

Ugh. I was being such a girl, deciphering his every comment. I wanted to punch myself.

Just then he reached up and pulled me to him. My hands found themselves on his chest, my heart pounding in my ears. I was suddenly so nervous I was scared I would throw up. Or pee. I wasn’t sure what would win out.

But before either function had a chance to take over, Niall wrapped his arms around me further and hugged me tightly. After a moment to collect myself, I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned the hug. His chest was solid against mine, his hair tickling my face as his chin tucked into the crook of my neck. The smell of his cologne filled my senses, as it had most of the day.

After a moment, he pulled back, taking a step away to give me some space.

“See you in a bit?” he said, reaching into his pocket to get his key.

I nodded, unable to find my voice, before retreating into my room.

Once inside the safety of my own space, I exhaled.

I hadn’t even realized I was holding my breath.


	8. Chapter 8

The next couple of days were fairly uneventful.

The crowd in Dublin that night and the next were deafening, every time Niall did anything at all, they erupted. It was fun to watch, him clearly having a little more fun now that they were back in his home country. He was even more hyper than usual, which also meant he was louder than usual.

We were headed back to Britain for a string of shows there, and I was taking advantage of the long drive on the bus to catch up on some much neglected homework. I was trying to keep up with my reading and assignments, but to be honest, I was slacking. The only time I really got any peace and quiet was on the bus, so I took advantage of it.

I was on the crew bus with Louise and other members of the styling team, tucked in a corner with my laptop and books. I was making decent progress on researching for a paper I had due the following week, my ear buds in blocking out the noise around me with music from my phone. I had been at it for over and hour, when a bing blocked out my music from my phone, signaling a text message.

Louis: hop on our bus at the next stop k?

I frowned. I didn’t really want to get distracted right now, especially since I was on a roll. And ‘hopping on their bus’ usually meant spending hours locked in a small space with them while I misbehaved.

I typed back.

Me: Im doing homework.

Louis: its important.

Ugh. I huffed out loud as if he could see my annoyance.

Me: k

Half an hour later the buses pulled into a rest stop, many people stepping out to stretch their legs or grab junk food. I emerged from my bus, my sunglasses blocking the bright afternoon sun from my eyes. I heard a high pitched yell, looking over to find Liam chasing Harry across the parking lot. I laughed, wondering what he had done now to enrage the others. When Harry was bored, he got into trouble. Which was quite often. And he wasn’t particularly selective when it came to who he pestered when he was bored, which was why I usually preferred to stay on my own bus when we travelled.

I stood around outside for a bit, taking the opportunity to move around an open space before Paul called out for everyone to get back on board. I stepped up to the guys bus, Liam and Harry hot on my heels.

“You riding with us?” Harry asked as he slapped my butt.

I swatted his hand away. “Louis said there was something important going on?”

Harry grinned, and I felt uneasy at his expression. That was his cheeky grin. I probably wasn’t going to like this. I hopped up the steps, heading towards the back of the bus where I could hear Louis’ loud voice.

I found him, Niall and Zayn scattered on the couches, a laptop on the table in front of them. Zayn was leaning back, texting on his phone. Louis gave me a smirk which matched the one Harry had given me, intensifying my anxiety. Niall just smiled his happy smile, sliding over to make a spot for me between him and Louis. I took the space offered, turning to Louis.

“So whats so important?”

Louis turned towards me slightly, pulling his knee up on the couch. His hair was a mess, sticking in every direction, and the jeans he wore had rips in the knees.

“So don’t freak out, okay,” he started, and I immediately regretted not staying on my on bus. “But you’re kinda on the internet.”

My eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“Apparently people got pictures of you coming off our bus in Dublin.” Zayn added, his phone now in his lap.

“So?” I didn’t understand what the big deal about that was. That’s when Louis turned the laptop towards me slightly and showed me a picture on the screen.

It was a little distorted, with fans arms and heads slightly in the way, but it was clear to see that it was me. What was just as clear was Nialls hand set protectively on my hip, guiding me through the fray.

The air left my lungs in a huff. I leaned forward closer to the screen and scrolled further down. My eyes almost popped out of my head.

There were also pictures of Niall and I on the green in Dublin. There were two of us laying in the grass, my head on his stomach. I was turned to face upwards, my face to the sun. Niall, however, was clearly looking down at me, a sweet smile on his face.

The second was taken when he had pushed my hair from my face. The final picture must have been taken while we walked back to the car, our hands linked together tightly.

The headline on the article read “One Direction Cutie Niall Horan has New Love Interest.”

I groaned loudly.

Louis continued when he saw my expression. “It doesn’t mention who you are, just calls you ‘a pretty brunette’.”

I snorted. “At least they didn’t call me ugly.” I said sarcastically as I pressed my hands over my face.

I felt Niall laugh behind me. “Like they would?”

I ignored him. I felt slightly irritated at him, even though I knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. What happens now? What if the fans think I am his girlfriend? What if the people I work for think Im just fan girling instead of doing my job?

My last query I voiced out loud.

“Well,” Niall interjected. “Since technically we are the people you work for, I don’t think we’re gonna think you’re fan girling.” He said with a smirk.

I smacked him with irritation.

“Im serious, Niall.” I almost whined. “Ugh.”

“Is it such a bad thing that people think we are dating?” he asked, his smile still in place but I could sense a hint of hurt in his voice.

I softened my tone and looked at him. “That’s not what I mean.”

He didn’t go any further, just sat with his hands in his lap watching me fret. I could tell he wanted to reach over and touch me, but he didn’t. I was glad, because right now I just felt irritated.

“Don’t worry about it,” Zayn added, leaning forward to take the laptop away as I kept glancing over at the screen. “Every week they have one of us dating someone new. This is blow over. No harm done.”

“You think?” I asked, unable to keep the hopefulness out of my voice.

“I recon it will be forgotten by the end of the week.” He assured me, giving me a sweet smile.

I sighed loudly, leaning back on the couch. Resting my head back, I closed my eyes.

It probably wouldn’t be long before Taylor got wind of this and had a field day.

As if on cue, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Taylor: I KNEW IT!

I groaned out loud, earning me looks from the boys around me.

Me: u rarely know it, love. But what do u think u know this time?

Taylor: u and Niall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: there is no me and Niall. Its just a misunderstanding.

Taylor: *rollseyes* pictures speak louder than words

Me: so does a punch in the face

I could tell she was laughing at me.

Taylor: fine, whatever.

Me: whatever

Our conversation ended at that, thankfully. I tossed my phone on the table, folding my legs under me.

Niall still sat still, his elbows on his knees. He watched me for a short moment, before leaning back next to me.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?” I asked, my green eyes meeting his blue ones.

He just shrugged.

“No, Im not mad at you. Im just stressed” I assured him, giving him a smile. “There are a lot worse things people could say about me than that I am dating you.”

Niall smiled at me, before shuffling his spot on the couch to lay down with his head in my lap.

“Well, then, I could use a little relaxation meself.”

I rolled my eyes as I laughed at him, my fingers sliding through his soft blonde hair. Within minutes, he was asleep, his chest rising and falling evenly with his breathing. How he could sleep with the noise we made on the bus I couldn’t understand.

Harry bounced back into the room, his gaze taking in my position on the couch, Niall in my lap, my fingers in his hair. He didn’t say anything, just gave me a naughty smirk that made me want to throw something at him. I would have if the motion wouldn’t have caused me to toss Niall on the floor.

Harry took a seat near Nialls feet, pulling out his phone. I knew immediately who he was texting.

I was going to punch them both.


	9. Chapter 9

For the next few days, I kept my distance from Niall. I didn’t want anymore ‘misunderstandings’ to cloud my purpose on this tour, and I didn’t want to give him any trouble.

When we arrived in Liverpool, the guys went to a radio station for an interview while the rest of us stayed either at the hotel or went to the venue to prepare for the nights show. I had the radio on in my hotel room, listening to the interview while I read through some documents for my paper. I was only half paying attention, since listening to them on the radio was usually difficult, as they all seemed to talk at once.

“So Niall,” the interviewer started. I could almost hear the smirk on his face. “Some photos have come up recently that have caused quite a stir.”

I could hear the guys laughing in the background. Niall didn’t say anything.

“I reckon you know which ones Im referring.” The interviewer pressed on. I had the overwhelming urge to punch him in the throat.

“I reckon I do.” Niall agreed. His voice was impassive.

“Care to offer up any details? Who is the lovely lady?” The host was not going to let it slide, much to my dismay. I realized I had set the papers in my hands down, and was now leaning forward across my folded legs, my elbows on the bed. I sat like this often, Liam almost shocked at how flexible I was. I told him it was from years of yoga practice, offering to help him stretch with a smirk. This usually prompted dirty comments from the rest of the guys.

“I think its best to keep that part of my life private, if that’s alright.” Niall said, his voice still impassive.

Well that was hardly going to ease the rumors, how was it? I could almost hear the host foaming at the mouth.

“Not even one little detail?” he pressed.

“Nope.” Niall said, his smile evident in his tone.

Thankfully, the host let the topic drop when he realized Niall was not going to play along. I was relieved, although Niall could have at least said it was just a misunderstanding or made it clear that there was nothing going on. But I suppose beggars cant be choosers so I let it go.

Since the now infamous photos had made their way online, I had gotten calls from my mother, grandmother, Maui and a few other friends back home, drilling me with questions. Were we dating? Was that why I got the job? What was going on? Was he a good kisser? I assured everyone that it was nothing, and that paps must have just been sneaking around when he had taken me around Dublin that afternoon as a friend. I put a lot of emphasis on the word ‘friend’, making it clear we were nothing more. The only one who pressed the issue was Maui. She was as bad as Taylor when it came to me and relationships.

“So you always hold hands like that with your friends?” she drilled.

“Yes.”

“You don’t hold my hand like that.”

“Jealous?” I scoffed at her.

“Actually yeah, but because you’re hanging out with five British hotties, and left me here all alone.” She argued.

“Four British and an Irish.” I corrected automatically.

She laughed.

We were almost four weeks into the tour. I had thousands of images, and so far everything I had given to management to put on the website and other various resources had received great reviews. I was relieved, especially after the whole photo scandal. I wanted to make sure that I produced good work so no one questioned my intentions on the job.

The night after the first Liverpool show, I was wide awake. I decided to get started on my paper, now that I had enough articles and reference material. I was in a part of pajama shorts and a tank top, my hair twisted messily into a bun on top of my head, strands falling into my face. Papers were scattered everywhere around me as I sat on the floor of my hotel room, leaning against the couch, my laptop on the coffee table in front of me. Maui always used to pick on me for my odd seating arrangements when I did homework. But hey, it worked for me.

I was typing like a mad woman, my mind focused on my task when a loud knock sounded at my door.

Standing up with difficulty since I had been sitting for so long, I went and answered the door. As soon as I pulled it open, I was bombarded by Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis, all completely wired and loud as hell. Louis picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, carrying me into the room as my legs flailed above him.

“What the fuck has gotten into you guys?” I laughed as Louis tossed me onto the bed. Harry was laying length wise across my pillows, pulling one under his head, while Liam immediately went to my mini fridge and started rummaging for the chocolate he knew I always kept on hand. Niall was jumping on my bed, while Louis tried to climb up as well.

God these boys needed Ritalin.

“We are wired and no one will play with us.” Harry whined, pulling a second pillow out to toss it at me. I caught it before it could hit me in the face.

“Zayn is out with Perrie,”Liam added, coming to sit on the edge of the bed, one of my chocolate bars in his hands.

“So you need a fifth in your debauchery then?” I asked, Louis trying to push Niall off the bed.

“Exactly!” Louis practically screamed. “No one else understands! Louise told me if I didn’t get out of her room she would shave my eyebrows off!”

“Entertain us!” Niall whined, dropping to his knees on the bed and pulling me over to him by my ankles until I was practically straddling him. It seemed like at that moment he noticed how little I was wearing. His eyes widened slightly, dropping to scan my body. His hands stayed gripped on my legs, his lips parting slightly. My heart sputtered.

“We wanna go swimming.” Liam added, tossing the chocolate wrapper towards the garbage can and missing.

It took me a minute to break my gaze away from Niall and look over at Liam. “So go. Why do I need to go?”

“Because!” Louis whined, falling onto the bed with a thump. “Paul says we need a responsible adult with us.”

I laughed out loud. Paul always told them they needed adult supervision, since they usually got into trouble if left on their own.

“Cherie, Steph and Mike are coming too.” Liam added when he saw I was going to refuse. “So just come with us. There is a pool on the roof and management is going to let us up there as long as we behave.”

“Are you actually going to behave?” I asked Liam, knowing the other three were most certainly not going to behave.

“We’re going to try.” He answered with a smile.

“Com’on, Dylan.” Harry whined, reaching over to pull at the hem of my top. “Just play with us.”

I smiled at Harry before my eyes returned to Niall. He hadn’t moved, his hands still on my legs. He was uncharacteristically quiet for such a naturally loud person.

I knew I should finish my paper, especially since I was already started.

“You can do homework later!” Harry blurted, as if reading my mind.

I shook my head. “Ok fine. But just for a little bit.”

The four boys started bouncing on my bed before running back out the door.

“Meet us on the roof in ten minutes!” Harry called over his shoulder as they all raced to their rooms.

Shutting the door behind them, I sighed heavily. So much for my paper. 

 

I stepped out onto the roof top terrace, pushing the heavy metal door to the side. The cool night air hit me, causing me to wrap my towel tighter around my body. The moment I stepped onto the concrete floor, my feet were freezing. I could hear the yelling and splashing before I even turned to see the pool.

The terrace was a large surface, with a long pool in the center, and a small circular hot tub in the far corner. There was the odd artificial tree to add greenery to the space, and about a dozen lounge chairs scattered around the pool.

In the pool itself was complete mayhem. Someone I assumed as Liam was holding who I assumed was Harry upside down in the water by his ankles while Louis kept diving under and splashing about near Harrys head. What they were trying to do I had no idea.

Cherie and Steph, two of the makeup assistants were in the hot tub with Mike, a member of security. Zayn sat in the shallow end beside Perrie, on the stairs that led into the water, with Niall seated beside them. Towels, flip flops and t-shirts were scattered on many of the loungers.

I stepped up to the closest empty lounger, peeling off my towel and tossing it down.

I was greeted with a round of whistles and hollers.

Immediately, my face flushed with embarrassment. Like I said, I was slender, but soft. My stomach was flat, but not tight. My legs were thin, but not toned. My chest was slightly bustier than I would have liked, my hips a little wider. I had never been overly comfortable with my body, and hated the fact that the bathing suit Taylor decided to pack for me was a black bikini. Yet another reason to hit her next time I saw her.

“Lookin’ good there, Page!” Harry screamed at me, water dripping from his curly hair.

“Yeah, who would have known that was hiding under the jeans you always wear.” Louis added, swimming up to the edge of the pool towards me. He wiggled his eyebrows at my menacingly, his hand pulling back as if to splash me with cold water.

“I will fucking kill you, Tomlinson.” I warned, stepping back away from him.

I stepped around to the steps of the pool where Zayn, Perrie and Niall sat. I stepped into the cool water, my body tensing at the temperature. I eased myself in, sitting on the step next to Perrie. It was probably not the best spot to be, considering how gorgeous she always looked. As if I needed another reason to feel self conscious at this moment. But she was warm and sweet, seemingly unaware of how pretty she was. It helped my insecurities.

We chatted for a while, with Liam, Louis and Harry splashing around like maniacs. It was nice to sit in the water, the cool air around us, the stars above us. It was the most relaxed I had been in days.

That’s when I noticed Harry drifting towards me, slowly as he tried not to be noticed. I met his eyes with mine firmly, warning him to not do whatever it was he was planning on doing that would force me to call his mother.

“What?” he said with a smile, his accent elongating the word. “Im not even doing anything.”

I kept my eyes on him as he got closer to me. I held my hands in front of me as if to ward him off. This was a mistake. He reached over, grabbing my hand and pulling me deeper into the cold water. My breath caught in my throat at the chill as it rose over my neck and shoulders, a wave splashing my face and hair. I stood up, wiping my face.

“Im gonna kill you Styles!” I said as I pushed my arm forcefully through the water, sending a wave in his direction. This seemed to get the reaction he was looking for, and an all out war began. I turned my face away from the water Harry sent in my direction, flinging my arms wildly in his. Since my eyes were closed, I didn’t see the person approach, ducking under the water to grab my legs. Pulling them apart, I shrieked as Niall stood from the water, taking me with him on his shoulders, his hands firmly on my thighs. I immediately reached down and gripped his hair tightly, as it was the first thing I could get my hands on as I was lifted high out of the water.

“OW!” he yelled through his laughter. “As much as I love your hands in my hair, babe, not so hard, yeah?”

“Then put me down!” I argued, not able to control my laughter.

“Not a chance.” He retorted as he led me a little deeper into the water. I loosened my grip on his hair, as I saw Harry scramble onto Liams shoulders to match Niall and I.

“Oh its on like donkey gong, bitches.” Liam called as he stalked towards us, Harrys arms out towards me.

The moment we were close enough, Harry grabbed my arms, twisting to push me off Nialls shoulders. Nialls fingers dug deeper into my thighs, holding me in place. I gripped Harrys forearms, pushing him to my left. I was laughing at the insults Liam and Niall were flinging at each other, both unable to participate past words as their hands steadied their partners. Zayn and Perrie cheered from their spot on the stairs, while the others just watched with amused expressions from the hot tub.

With a firm push, Harry sent me backwards, falling into the water and taking Niall down with me. The moment I emerged on the surface, I was greeted with his cheering and whooping at his own brilliance. I wiped the water from my face, splashing some towards the cheering team.

“You guys suck.” I called.

“Only if you want me to, babe!” Harry called back with a wink.

I shot him a dirty look, still laughing, when Nialls arm wrapped across my stomach from behind and pulled me towards the edge of the pool. I drifted along under his influence as I watched Perrie climb on Louis shoulders for the next round.

When we reached the edge of the pool, my back pressed against Nialls bare chest, his arms crossing over my middle. He nestled his chin in the crook of my neck, his wet hair dripping along my face. He didn’t say anything to me, just laughed and shouted a mixture of insults and instructions at the now fighting pairs. I cross my arms over his, a gesture that caused him to hold me closer, if that was possible. I was aware of every curve of his front pressed against my back. The tickle of his chest hair, the dips of his abdomen, the flex of his arms around me. I was glad that it was so loud on the roof so that he couldn’t hear the thudding of my frantic heart.

He pulled an arm away from me to reach up and push my hair across my far shoulder, giving him fair access to my neck, before returning his chin to his seemingly favorite spot. The vibrations of his voice against my neck gave me shivers. Niall took this reaction as meaning I was cold, tightening his hold on me. I tried to keep my breathing even so he didn’t know the effect he was having on me.

We watched several rounds of chicken fighting, with Cherie, Steph and Mike joining from their place in the hot tub to the pool with us. We were on our fifth round, when I finally started to relax a little, molding myself into Niall.

The relaxation didn’t last long, however. Just as I was yelling at insult at Harry as he battled Cherie on Mikes shoulders, I felt Nialls lips graze the dip of my neck. My insult choked off in my throat. His lips were feather light on my skin, his breath hot against the cool flesh. I felt my body tense, and I was certain Niall felt it too, but he ignored it. He just slid his still lips slowly over my shoulder, his breath tickling the wet drops on my skin. I felt his hair dripping onto my neck as he returned to the original spot of torment.

When he pulled his mouth away from my body, I didn’t dare turn to look at him. I was too scared. I was such a fucking wuss. I don’t know why I was so surprised by his action. Im sure everyone else could see how he was acting with me, but I supposed I was just being oblivious. Another defense mechanism.

We floated in the water in a still silence for a few moments, before the door to the terrace opened, and Paul emerged. He didn’t look impressed.

“Ok, parties over!” he called, stepping up to the pool. “You guys have another show tomorrow, so get your asses in bed.”

A chorus of grumbling, whining and profanities lit up the night as everyone reluctantly slipped from the water. I pulled myself from Nialls arms, not turning around to look at him as I stepped out of the water and quickly grabbed my towel to wrap around me. I avoided his eyes the walk back down to our floor, and slipped quickly into my room without a word to him.

My heart was sputtering as I dried off, changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed.

I didn’t sleep for shit that night.


	10. Chapter 10

The next few days were full of mixed emotions. After Nialls bold move in the pool, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous around him. He was his normal, relaxed, flirty self 99% of the time. The other 1% was filled with stolen touches, lingering looks and even one graze of my butt while we waited or an elevator.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t like Niall. Of course I did. I wasn’t deaf, blind or retarded. He was sweet, hilarious, talented, and just plain gorgeous. And totally out of my league.

I wasn’t one of those girls who wanted to date a celebrity. Quite the opposite. I found myself nervous and tense just being on tour with them, surrounded by fans, the screaming, the constant scrutiny. I could only imagine how it would be dating one of them. Thankfully, the incident in Dublin died off quickly, just as Zayn had predicted, and nothing new had surfaced to cause any more issues.

I tried not to let my nervousness affect my friendship with Niall. We still had to work together, and even though at times I wasn’t sure friendship was what he had in mind, I certainly didn’t want to lose that. I had a lot of fun with him, talking, laughing, and making up pranks to play on others. I even helped him ‘trash’ the bands dressing room, something that seemed to happen A LOT.

He had started trying to teach me to play the guitar. This wasn’t going well. I was awful. I had no musicality at all, and couldn’t even hold it right. But Niall was patient with me, encouraging me, and even praised me when I got the most simple notes right. He would find reasons to reach over me, putting his arms around me to help my place my fingers on the strings, or find the right notes. Just stealing small touches here and there, which would always make me screw up whatever note I was trying to play.

The tour continued, and crowds blending in to one big screaming mass. Everywhere we went, we were bombarded. The guys were incredible with the fans, taking every possible moment to sign autographs, take photos and just talk to them. They understood the importance and being accessible, and made it a priority every chance they could.

Occasionally when they knew they had a day off the next day, the guys would go to a club or a bar and let loose. They would come back in the early hours, loud and crazy as usual. I wasn’t a club person, so I would usually stay back and catch up on homework, or do some photo editing. But more than once they would come knocking on my door at 2am, more than a little tipsy, wanting to hang out.

Niall tended to get a little more handsy when he had been drinking, his hand on my leg or running up and down my arm while we talked. I had a feeling if the other guys hadnt been in the room at those times, he would have tried more. I had never been so thankful to have a loud Louis in my room.

Twice the guys had a break of several days, where they would go home to see their families and friends. I had considered going home to LA, seeing my friends, or even going back to Michigan to see my family, but it was such a long trip for only a few days, I always seemed to decide against it. The guys had all offered for me to come home with them during these breaks, not liking the idea of me staying at a hotel by myself. I appreciated the offers, but actually liked the time to myself. I was able to get a little distance from the insanity that always seemed to follow them everywhere they went.

We arrived back in London for another set of dates in late March. We were here for 3 more shows, plus a day off before heading on to Paris. I was excited to go to Paris, since it was one of the place I had always wanted to visit.

After checking in to the same hotel we had stayed when first starting the tour, I settled in to do a little photo editing. We had the day off, with the first concert not until the next evening. A few hours into my editing session, there was a knock at my door.

I automatically assumed it would be one of the guys. When I opened the door and saw the person on the other side, I screamed.

“OH MY GOD!!!!”

I practically threw myself out the door at Taylor, wrapping my arms around her. She returned the gesture, and we stood there jumping up and down like three year olds for a solid five minutes. Several heads popped out from rooms down the hall at our screaming, but we didn’t care.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her as I pulled her into my room.

“I decided to visit for a bit!” she said shucking her purse and tossing it on my suitcase. She jumped onto my bed, folding her legs under her. I sat next to her, almost bouncing with excitement. I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed her until that moment.

“Does Harry know?”

She laughed. “Of course. Hes known for a few days.”

“That little shit. He didn’t tell me.”

“I told him not to. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Oh my God, Ive missed you.” I said honestly, reaching across to hug her again.

“Ive missed you too! So tell me everything Ive missed.”

That started us into one of our marathon chats, pulling pillows from the bed to tuck under our heads or hug across our bodies while we caught each other up on every aspect of our lives. I was used to telling her everything, so it felt weird to have so much of my life lately unknown to her.

Her recording was going well, and she figured the album would be ready by the end of the year. She was staying for the duration of our time in London, before heading back home at the end of the week.

“So,” she started, pulling the pillow under her head as she laid on her side on the bed facing me. “Whats up with you and Niall?”

I rolled my eyes at her knowing smirk. “Theres nothing up.” I half lied.

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” She immediately retorted, not willing to let the topic slide now that we were together again.

“Seriously, Taylor, there is nothing going on. We are friends. That’s it.”

“I don’t think he would agree with that statement.” She argued, smiling at me.

“And how would you know?”

“Cause I talked to him.” She stated plainly.

I sat straight up in the bed, my eyes wide. “YOU DID WHAT?”

She shrugged, not bothering to get up from her position on the bed despite my now high pitched squeaking. “Harry told me that Niall said he fancied you. So I just gave him a few pointers.”

“Are you kidding me?” I couldn’t believe she was saying this. “Like what?”

“Well, I told him that you weren’t the kind of girl to make a move, even if you liked him, so he would have to do it. I know hes normally kind of shy around girls he likes, so I told him to be a little more obvious with you, affectionate and stuff, cause subtly didn’t work with you. You are pretty oblivious most of the time.” She seemed annoyingly proud of herself. “Has he been doing anything?”

“Im going to kill you.” I stated, ignoring her question.

“No you aren’t,” she said, pulling the pillow onto her lap. Her blonde curls fell forward over her shoulder. “So, has he done anything?”

I sighed loudly, throwing myself back on the bed, covering my face with my arm. “Yeah.”

“Like what?” I could hear the excitement in her voice without having to look at her.

“I don’t know Tay. Little things. Watching me, finding reasons to touch me.” I debated telling her about the pool incident, but figured it couldn’t get any worse if I did. “He kissed my neck when we were in a pool a week or so ago.”

“YES!” She started bouncing on the bed. I reached over and hit her with my pillow in annoyance. Unfortunately, she remained unfazed.

“So, you like him.” It was a statement more than a question.

This was the moment I could either lie to my best friend for the first time, or be honest. Ugh. I hated this girl.

“Yeah.” I finally admitted.

“YES!” she repeated again.

I sat up quickly, pointing my finger at her firmly. “Don’t you fucking DARE tell anyone I told you that. Not Harry, not the guys, and especially not Niall! I will fucking kick your ass, Taylor, I mean it.”

She raised her hands defensively, her ecstatic grin still plastered on her pretty face. “I wont say anything. But Im so fucking excited I could die.”

“Don’t be,” I amended quickly. “Nothing is going to happen. Its just a crush. Just flirting.”

“For now.” She answered with annoying certainty.


	11. Chapter 11

Taylor and I spent the better part of the afternoon laying on my bed, talking. As much as I was annoyed with her for her part in Niall-gate, as I decided to call it, I had missed her too much to be mad.

Harry had come in about an hour or so after her arrival, pouting that he had spent ten minutes with his girlfriend and I had stolen her. I informed him I had her first, so he would just have to wait. He didn’t like this, and decided to take part in our girl talk. The three of us were sprawled all over my bed, currently debating on what we wanted for dinner. Harry was still on the ‘dinner out or take out menus’ part of the decision making process.

“If we go out, you guys will be mobbed.” I pointed out as I kicked Harrys legs off me for the fourth time.

“Yeah, but Im bored.” He whined, twirling a piece of Taylors hair in his fingers. She lay with her hand on his chest, her body at a complete angle from his. The three of us looked like a lop sided steeple.

“You’re always bored, Haz.” I added.

Harry shrugged.

“So why don’t we just order in, and we can just find something to do around here?” Taylor suggested, trying to look up at Harry from her awkward position.

“Oh I can think of a few things we can do around here.” He said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows down at her.

“EW! You guys are NOT having sex in my room.” I yelled, kicking at Harrys legs again.

“Well why don’t we call Niall in here then.” Harry said. “It’s a hotel room, Dylan, it expects sex.”

My mouth dropped open at his statement, while Taylor almost peed herself laughing.

As if on cue, my hotel room door opened, and Niall came in. Wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, his hair messy and sticking in every direction, he looked painfully good. I hated him for that.

His presence caused Harry and Taylor to laugh harder, while I buried my face in my pillow and kicked blindly at Harry.

“Whats so funny?” Niall asked, climbing on the bed with us to tuck in behind me.

“Nothing.” I said quickly, shifting to give him space.

Harry and Taylor just smirked at me. I had never wanted to hurt two people more in my life than I did at that moment.

Niall looked at us all with a raised eyebrow, before turning to Harry. “The lads were thinking of ordering Chinese. Eleanor is here too, so we figured we could have a little debauchery after dinner in the form of a few pints.”

Harry seemed immediately up for the suggestion. As long as it meant he didn’t have to decide anything, he was usually good for any suggestion.

“Right then, I will tell Liam to go ahead and order a bunch of shite.” Niall said, sliding off the bed. “And I will find a stock of drinks for later.”

Niall left the room without looking back, but that didn’t wipe the smirks from Harry and Taylors faces.

Harry turned to Taylor. “This is going to be a fun visit, I think, love.”

She smirked at me. “I think so too.”

I knew I was in for a long night if they had anything to say about it. 

 

The laughter from Harrys hotel room could be heard all the way down the hall.

The room was filled with Chinese take out boxes, glasses, chop sticks, and liquor bottles. We were all so full after dinner, Taylor, Eleanor and I had changed into stretchier clothes. I had on a tank top and PJ shorts, while Taylor had on long PJ pants and a spaghetti top that I was pretty sure was mine. She had only been here a few hours and was already stealing my clothes.

We were now scattered around the small living area of Harrys room, bodies sprawled over any possible comfortably surface. Louis and El were cuddled together on the arm chair, their feet up on the coffee table that was littered with leftover food and bottles. Zayn and Liam were laying across the floor, at least half a dozen pillows propping them up. Taylor and Harry were laying across the couch, his arm over her middle. Every once in a while I would look over to find them stealing kisses, or Harry whispering what I was certain were naughty things in Taylors ear. Niall and I were on the love seat, in our usual position of his head in my lap. It had become such a common thing for us at this point, I honestly didn’t even think anything of it anymore. My hand automatically fell to his hair, pulling the soft strands through my fingers while he laughed and chattered with everyone in the room. My feet sat propped up on the table, his slung over the end of the short love seat. Anyone walking in right now would have thought a bomb had gone off in the room.

Liam sat up to pour himself another drink. I had never been much of a drinker, and honestly was still working on the same one that Louis poured me an hour ago. I had lost count how many everyone else had had at this point, our voices raising with the level of the blood alcohol in the room.

“Okay, Im bored.” Harry announced to the surprise of no one. “Lets play a game.”

A few people groaned in annoyance.

“Ok, first of all, fuck off.” He said, reaching over to pluck his drink from the table. “And second of all, lets play truth or dare.”

I groaned inwardly. I hated this game. I always ended up making a fool of myself or saying something embarrassing. Yes, I knew that was the point of the game. That doesn’t meant I had to like it.

Everyone else seemed to like the idea. Harry continued. “So, do you your truth or dare, then you take a drink. If you refuse the question or dare, you have to chug. Sound fair?”

Not really. I thought. Since I didn’t drink much, I would be completely knackered in no time with these rules.

As if sensing my thoughts, Harry turned to me. “That means you too, Dylan. No wussing out.”

“You trying to get me drunk, Styles?” I shot back, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Please, I wouldn’t need to get you drunk. You already cant resist me.” He answered, earning himself a smack from Taylor.

“Okay, I will go first.” Louis piped up. “Taylor. Is Harry the best you’ve ever had.”

Oh god, I thought. No wasting time going right for the personal questions with these guys.

Everyone in the room turned to Taylor, expectant smirks on their faces. She flushed, looking up at him. “Sure why not.”

Harry almost choked. “What the fuck kind of answer is that?”

“Hey, I answered. There are no rules about you having to like the answer.” She said as she took a swig of her beer.

Everyone had a good laugh at Harrys expense, before Taylor turned to Liam.

The game went on for a while, the questions becoming more personal, the dares more embarrassing. Harry had asked me what my magic number was. They seemed surprised that I had only slept with 2 people. I didn’t really care. I didn’t need to justify my choices. Liam had asked my favorite place to be kissed, earning a dirty remark from Louis, and a chop stick thrown at him from me. When I said my neck, I noticed Niall smirking from his place in my lap. The only time he sat up was when he had to drink, his head immediately falling back to his make shift pillow.

Taylor and Zayn had a high heeled race down the hall and back, and Liam was dared to streak down the hall naked, knocking on every door on the way down and back. He chugged his beer on that one, refusing to be caught by everyone on the team with his willy out.

“Okay, Dylan,” Louis said, taking a sip from his drink and turning to me. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth”

He smirked menacingly “Out of everyone here, who would you most fancy a fuck with.”

I almost choked on my drink. Everyone laughed, Liam giving Louis a high five for his question before turning expectantly to me.

Oh. My. God. I was going to kill him. I had actually liked Louis until this moment. Now he was going to have to die. Too bad. He was cute.

I reached for my drink, preparing to chug, when Harry piped up. “Oh no, I think you should answer this one.”

“That’s not the rules.” I argued, shooting him a dirty look.

“Oh com’on,” he whined. “Just answer.”

I set the bottle back down, glancing over at Taylor. She had the biggest grin on her face. She already knew my answer. As did Harry. Fuck, probably everyone knew. I avoided looking down at Niall, but I could feel his eyes on me intently. My stomach was trying out for the US gymnastics team as it flipped in my abdomen.

“Fine” I answered, keeping my eyes away from each one of them. “I would have to say El.”

Everyone laughed, as El blew me a kiss.

“That’s fucking sexy.” Louis blurted out.

“Answer seriously.” Harry piped up, not letting the question drop.

I shot him a look. He was grinning the famous Harry Styles smirk. Ugh.

Sighing loudly, I closed my eyes so I didn’t have to look at any of them.

“Niall.” I said quietly.

“Im sorry, I couldn’t hear that.” Zayn hollered from across the room, obviously being an ass.

“I SAID NIALL!” I yelled back, throwing my head against the back of the couch.

Everyone erupted into cheers and hollers, as I covered my face with my hands. I could feel my face burning with embarrassment, the skin hot under my fingers. I felt the couch shift, Nialls head lifting from my lap. Suddenly his hands were on my legs, twisting me around and pulling me down onto the couch under him.

I squealed as he lowered himself over me.

“Lets not waste any time then, eh, babe.” He laughed as he buried his face in my neck. I laughed as he nuzzled me, my hands finding his chest and pushing him back. He wouldn’t budge, his lips skimming the sensitive skin. If I hadnt been so mortified, I would have been totally turned on.

Everyone cheered him on, whooping and chanting. I pushed his chest a little harder, my hands against the first muscles. Finally, he laughed against my neck, sliding down to lay behind me, spooning himself into me. Wrapping an arm over my waist, he blatantly kissed my neck before reaching over and grabbing his beer from the table.

“Right then,” he said, taking a long drink. “Zayn, truth or dare”

The game continued for a while longer, before everyone started to get tired and headed off to their respective rooms. Hugging Taylor goodnight, I gave Harry a playful slap on the cheek before heading towards my room. Only steps from Harrys door, I felt a hand on my waist. I knew who it would be without having to turn around. Reaching my door, I turned to look up into Nialls blue eyes. He had a sexy little smirk on his face, his thumb tracing small circles on the skin between my top and my shorts. He took a step towards me, and instinctively I stepped back, my back pressing against my door. He didn’t seem to notice, or didn’t seem to care. He pressed himself flush against me, my heart racing at the proximity.

I knew there was no point in avoiding him, or pretending at this point. Thanks to Louis, any sense of distance I once had was shot right out the fucking window.

Nialls free hand came up, cupping my face gently. His thumb stroked my cheek feather light, and without thinking, I leaned into his touch. He leaned his face towards mine, until his lips were less than an inch from my own. My breath came out in tiny puffs, unable to fully inhale or exhale. His eyes were locked on mine, as if judging my reaction. After a moment of this torture that felt like years, his head dipped to the side, to plant a soft kiss on my bare shoulder. His lips lingered for a minute, before he stood upright, stepped back, and pulled my hand to his mouth. Kissing my knuckles, he turned without a word and walked two doors down to his own room.

I don’t remember how I got into my room, but I found myself in my bed, my breathing ragged.

That boy was going to be the death of me.


	12. Chapter 12

I had a restless sleep that night. Mainly because I kept dreaming about Niall in uncompromising positions. I woke up more than once in a sweat, gripping the sheets. When I finally fell into a dreamless sleep, I stayed that way until almost noon.

I woke to a screen full of text messages.

Taylor: sweet dreams ;) x

Harry: do you know where my pants are?

Paul: we are leaving for the venue at 430

Maui: how are you? Call me when you get a sec xx

The last one was from Niall, sent only twenty minutes prior.

Niall: I kept dreaming about u last night. U r invading my sleep, babe. Xx

I flushed at the words on my phone, and couldn’t help the giggle that escaped my lips. Fuck. He made me giggle. I loathed myself.

I slid out of bed and directly into the shower. I let the hot water clear my head, washing away the perspiration from my restless sleep. I was just rinsing the suds from my body when I heard my bathroom door open.

“Hello?” I called, immediately scared.

“Its me.” Taylors voiced echoed in the small space.

I popped my head around the curtain. “Hey.” I said, watching her as she lowered the toilet lid and took a seat. She was already dressed in skinny dark denim pants, and a blue top. Her hair was pulled into a knot on top of her head.

I had given her an extra key to my room the day before since I knew she would be there for a while. We usually did this when we stayed at hotels, since it was easier than having to knock.

“What’s up?” I asked, sliding back into the confines of the shower to finish up.

“Nothing. Harry took me for a late breakfast, then went to take a nap.” She laughed.

I joined in. “Poor baby.”

“Yeah. So I figured I would see if you wanted to do something today before we go to the arena.”

“Sure,” I called, turning off the tap and sneaking my arm out to grab a towel. Wrapping it around myself I stepped out of the shower and into the cooler air of the bathroom. “What do you wanna do?”

“What do we always do?” she said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at me.

I laughed. “Shop”

“Exactly.”

“Fine. Let me get dressed.” 

 

Taylor and I walked the streets of London, chatting, shopping, and laughing for the majority of the afternoon. I had spent more money than I planned, but that usually happened when I went shopping. Thankfully, only a few fans recognized Taylor, so our trip didn’t turn into a frenzy.

Weighted down with bags, we started making the trek back towards the hotel when Taylors arm shot out and shopped me.

“We need to go in here.” She said, grinning at me.

I looked up at the store front. Victorias Secret.

I laughed. “Wanna get Harrys engine revving do we?”

“Or Nialls.”

I hit her arm, before following her into the store.

We browsed through the store, eyes scanning the slinky items. Occasionally we would giggle like teenagers at a rather risqué item, before moving on to something that didn’t make me blush just looking at it.

I was picking out a cute matching bra and knicker set, when Taylor bounced up next to me.

“You gotta try this one.” She said, shoving a piece of lacy black fabric at me. I held it up, smirking.

“What is it?” I asked, looking at the tiny piece of material.

“Oh shut up.” She said, pulling my arm towards the change rooms. “Humor me.”

She had similar items slung over her arm as we entered the change rooms.

Stripping down, I slid the tiny black lace over my body. It was all lace, hugging my curves like a second skin. Thin black straps held it in place, the hem falling just at the base of my bum. It had little matching knickers, and a diamond accent between the breasts. I still felt naked.

“What do you think?” Taylors voice called from the next room.

“Its like a postage stamp!” I called back, laughing.

“Then its perfect.” She answered, as I heard her bump against the wall. “Gotta give Niall a little something fun now and then.”

“Oh shut UP Taylor!”

She laughed back.

Stepping up to the checkout with our items, I went to put the black postage stamp back when Taylor caught my arm.

“No you don’t, you’re getting it.”

“Why?”

“I told you why.” She argued, putting the item in her pile before I could stop her. “Niall will die.”

“No he wont, because hes never going to see it.” I argued, blushing as the girl at the checkout smiled at me.

“Whatever.” Taylor answered, paying for her items quickly and pulling the bag out of my reach.

I paid for my items, the cashier still smiling at me, before we left the store and returned to the hotel with our prizes. Unloading all the items onto my bed, we started rummaging through our purchases when the door open and Harry, Liam and Niall came into the room.

“I knew they would have gone shopping.” Harry said, climbing onto the bed to check out what we had bought. He picked up a white sweater Taylor had purchased, looking at it with disinterest. “This is boring.”

Taylor snatched the sweater away, swatting at him.

“OH!” Liam called, picking up the distinct pink bag from the bed. “I bet this isn’t boring.”

I reached for the bag quickly, but Liam was faster. He reached in and pulled out the black lace item Taylor had forced upon me.

The boys eyes widened.

“Babe, that’s hot.” Harry said, reaching over to Taylor. “Grab it and lets go to my room and have a little fashion show, yeah?”

Taylor laughed as he pulled her closer.

“Sorry Styles, but that isn’t mine.”

His eyebrows drew together for a moment before he realized what she meant. His eyes darted to me, his mouth curving into a grin.

“Dylan, you sexy bitch.”

Liam whistled as I finally grabbed the black lace from his hand and popped it back into the bag.

“Nialler, you are a lucky man.” Liam said, laughing as the blush colored my cheeks.

I met Nialls eyes, which were wide, his mouth open slightly. His expression made everyone laugh harder, as I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment. I felt Niall step up and wrap his arms around me tightly, feeling his body vibrating as he laughed. I buried my face in his chest, avoiding everyones eyes as they chortled.

Nialls breath tickled my cheek. “That is so fucking hot, babe.”

When they had settled their laugher, I lifted my face from Nialls chest and turned to Taylor to shoot her a death glare. She was smiling proudly at herself, watching me still wrapped securely into Nialls body.

I hadnt seen her look this proud of herself since the last Grammys.


	13. Chapter 13

The show that night went off without a hitch, with Taylor and I seated in the seats just at the stage, watching the guys running around like maniacs and entertaining the screaming crowd. We sang and danced along with the boys, acting like the 12 year olds who were seated behind us in the front row. Every slow song Niall would make his way to our side of the stage, stealing glances at me with the occasional smirk or wink. The girls behind us went wild, certain the looks were for them.

I took as many pictures as I could, even taking a few of the fans as they cheered, held up signs, hugged friends and the like. They were the biggest part of the tour experience, so I wanted to make sure I got as many of them in this series as I could. Before the show, as I walked along taking a few of their photos, several asked me what my role was, if I knew the guys, what they were like. I answered honestly, but was always quick to move on, not wanting to get too familiar just incase.

After the show, we piled into the vans and headed back to the hotel. Taylor and Harry were seated ahead of where Liam and I sat in the back, and by the way Harry was whispering in Taylors ear, I knew she wouldn’t be hanging out in my room that night.

Everyone retreated to their rooms once safely inside the hotel, and after a quick shower, I pulled on some tight PJ shorts and spaghetti strapped top, twisted my damp hair into a knot at the base of my neck, and climbed on my bed to browse the photos I had taken that day. I sat with my laptop between my legs, leaning forward over the keyboard as I flicked through the images. I had gotten some really good ones of the fans, and even better ones of the guys in action. I was getting better at catching certain things they did on stage as I became more familiar with their shows.

I was laughing at a particularly embarrassing picture of Zayn when someone knocked on my door.

On the other side I found Niall, freshly showered, his hair damp as it stuck up around his head in a blonde halo. He had on jeans and a black tshirt, his hands in his pockets. He was barefoot, and for some reason, I found that a turn on.

I realized I had been staring when he smiled at me and said “Can I come in?”

I stepped aside wordlessly to allow him into my room. Closing the door behind him, I realized that this was the first time we were in my room alone. After the events of the last few days, my body was extremely aware of this fact.

I followed him over to the bed, where he slid up and laid down beside where I had left my laptop. Trying to appear calm and collected, I returned to my seat, leaning against the headboard and pulling the computer onto my lap.

“Whatcha doing?” Niall asked, propping himself up on one elbow to look at me. His eyes seemed impossibly blue in the dim light of the lamp on the bedside table. It jumbled my thoughts.

“Um.” I sputtered. “Going through some pictures from today.”

Sliding himself up further in the bed, and in the process, closer to me, he leaned towards the computer screen.

“Lets see then.”

We flicked through the pictures quietly for a while, with Niall making the occasional comment, or laughing at a stupid expression someone had on their face.

I was trying to keep my breathing even so he wouldn’t know how nervous I was to be with him like this. Taylor had said Niall was usually shy around girls he liked, which hadnt been my experience with him if he really did like me the way she had said. But then again, he was under her tutelage, and therefore knew that if he wanted something to happen, it was up to him. I was not the aggressor with guys, and usually didn’t even noticed if someone took notice of me. Niall seemed to have been taking Taylors lessons to heart, as he had always seemed to know exactly what to do to get my attention.

Now, my attention was on him completely. The feel of his body next to mine. The warmth of his arm as he reached over to point at things on the screen. The smell of his skin, a mixture of bodywash and a sweet almost citrus scent. My heart was stuttering my in chest every time he moved.

“Oh jesus.” He said, leaning closer to the screen. “This is fucking horrible.”

I looked at the image he was referring to. It was a picture of him, and I honestly had no idea what he had been trying to do. He had a contorted look on his face, while he legs were up in the air as he lay on the stage. It was by far the most embarrassing picture had taken of him so far.

“Erase that one.” He said, reaching for the delete button.

I pulled the computer away from him. “I don’t think so, Horan.” I argued. “I get final editorial say.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “Says who?”

“Says me” I answered, pulling the computer further from his reach.

“You think so, eh?” he challenged, pushing himself up to his knees. “We’ll see about that.”

With that, be pounced at me, grabbing the computer and setting it on the floor before pulling me down the bed and tickling my sides relentlessly.

I squealed, wiggling under him as I tried to grab at his wrists.

“NIALL!” I yelled, finally wrapping my small hands around his wrists. It made no difference. He was stronger than me, and continued the assault. “Stop before you make me pee myself!”

“I love a challenge, babe.” He said between laughs as he straddled my legs to pin me down.

In a last ditch effort, I reached up and grabbed a pillow from above me, swinging it around to hit Niall up side the head. He paused, surprised for a minute, before an evil smile spread across his face.

He quickly grabbed the pillow from my hands, softly smacking me with it as I tried to fight back. I writhed beneath him, unable to move him at all. I could hardly contain my laugher as I tried weakly to fight back. Bending my knees slightly under his weight, I quickly pushed my hips up, forcing him to fall forward over me.

I had planned on him falling to the side. However, he fell directly over me, his arms landing on either side of my body to stop himself from collapsing on me. The pillow was still gripped tightly in his left hand, his bent legs on either side of my hips. I reached over to try and pry the pillow from him, but before I could reach it, he flung it out of my grasp and pinned my wrists down on either side of my head.

Our laughter slowly died down as we both seemed to realize that I was officially trapped under his body.

I stared up at him breathlessly, my eyes locked on his. He was still smiling down at me, but his eyes had darkened slightly. The energy in the room had changed dramatically from playful to anticipation.

We both seemed to know what each other was thinking. After weeks of glances, touches, and smiles, it came down to this.

Niall was going to kiss me.

Slowly, he slid his body down and rolled to lay close beside me, propped up on his elbow, rather than pinning me to the bed. His grip on my right wrist weakened as he instead slid his hand up to lace his fingers with mine. His other hand released my wrist to run a finger gently along my cheek, down my jaw, and across my lips.

My breath was coming is short, shallow gasps, when I breathed at all. My stomach was tight as I relished his touch. I could feel the callouses on his fingers from his years of guitar as they slid from my now parted lips down my neck to my collar bones. His eyes followed the path of his fingers, before raising up to mine again.

Painstakingly slowly, Niall bent his head to mine. He paused with his lips parted, only millimeters from my own. Our eyes met, and I could tell he was waiting to see if I would stop him.

I didn’t.

Bringing his hand up to cup my face gently, Niall placed his lips softly to mine.

They were warm, soft. It was incredibly sweet and gentle and he moved his lips against mine almost tentatively. I kissed him back cautiously, his hand moving to the back of my neck, as my free hand found the back of his. My fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck, the sensation causing him to deepen the contact. We kissed like this for several moments, testing each other, learning the feel of our lips together. I exhaled slightly, a soft moan leaving my lips on its own accord. Niall took the opportunity to slip his tongue in my mouth, his breath mixing with mine. The kiss remained gentle, his hand sliding from my neck, down my neck, across my shoulder and down my arm. The feeling sent chills through my body as he pulled me closer, his leg slinging over mine until he was laying half on top of me.

The feeling of his body pressing mine into the mattress seemed to change the tone of our contact. My hand tightened in his hair, our linked hands squeezing together. His free hand found my hip, before sliding down to my knee and bending my leg up. His hand traced back towards my hip before resting there, his fingers kneading into my skin.

Our tongues mingled, alternating between soft strokes and a seemingly battle for dominance. I pulled my hand from his hair to grip his shoulder, feeling the muscles move beneath his shirt.

He was an incredible kisser.

The thought almost caused me to giggle. Fuck. Don’t giggle now you dumbass, I told myself sternly.

Our breathing had increased, our chests rising and falling against each other in a rhythmic pattern. He pulled his lips from mine, before placing them on my jaw. A sigh escaped my lips as he trailed a mixture of kisses and soft nips along my jaw, and onto my neck.

Damn him for knowing my sweet spots. Actually, damn Liam for asking that question during truth or dare.

I felt a pressure on the crook of my neck, his lips securing their spot. As he sucked gently, my hips involuntarily lifted into his. My body was betraying me to this beautiful boy. The action urged him on as he sucked again, and I could feel the blood rushing to the surface. I mentally scolded him for marking me, but my body honestly didn’t give a fuck. He gave me a gentle nip on the sore spot he had made, before making his way back to my lips. My mouth attacked his the moment his lips made contact, my hands both finding their way to his hair and pulling gently. His hand left its place on my hip to find the hem of my shirt. He skimmed his fingers along the skin there for a moment, before cautiously sliding his hand up and under the fabric. His fingers explored my skin, stopping at the base of my breast. He seemed to not want to go any further without a signal from me. I smiled against his lips.

Reaching down, my hands found the hem of his shirt. I traced patterns in the soft skin at the top of his boxer line, winning a groan from Nialls mouth. I slipped my fingers under the elastic of his underwear, as his hips ground into mine. The pressure forced a sigh from my lips, and Niall took this as the signal he needed to reach his hand up to my breast. He kneaded me gently, his thumb running over my nipple in small circles.

I couldn’t take it. I needed to feel his skin on mine. I grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it up his back. He took the hint, sitting up quickly and pulling the fabric over his head and tossing it to the side. He was back down to me in a flash. I didn’t get again a chance to admire him. My hands explore the newly exposed skin as our kisses got deeper. I felt like I was trying to mold into him, my body curving with his with every movement. I used my bent leg as leverage to push my hips into his. He pressed back, groaning into my mouth. My fingers dug into the skin of his back, relishing the feel of the muscles as they moved. His lips attacked my neck again, before finding my ear.

“God, you’re gorgeous.” He whispered, giving my earlobe a nip.

All I could do was exhale loudly in response. He was completely fogging my brain function.

His hand skimmed along my bend leg, his hips grinding into mine. He slipped his hand up my leg and into my shorts to firmly grip my bum. His fingers buried in the flesh, my hips reacting.

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. All I could do was feel every inch of him along my body, every sensation, the smell of him, the taste of him.

Why the hell had I been resisting this boy all this time? If I knew it would be like this I would have jumped him the moment I saw him in that office waiting room.

My hands gripped his hips and he pressed into me again. His hand had returned to my breast, moving the fabric up and over the top. His head dipped down, his blonde hair tickling my chin as his hand was replaced by his mouth. I inhaled sharply as his teeth grazed the sensitive nub. My hands reached up and fisted in his hair as his tongue made small circles intermixed with nips and sucks.

Sighs and moans were leaving my lips on their own accord. He attacked my other breast with just as much skill and enthusiasm, before returning his lips to mine.

I didnt know how much longer I could hold out.

Just then, I heard a soft rap at the door. Louis appeared at the foot of the bed, his eyes widening at the sight of us wrapped around each other in limbs and skin and tongues.

“Holy fuck” he said, scurrying in a circle before running into my bathroom. “Shit, you guys, Im so sorry!”

Nialls head flew up from mine, looking over his bare shoulder towards the sound of Louis voice as he raised himself up slightly.

“What the fuck Louis!” he yelled, quickly pulling my shirt over my chest and trying to cover me.

“Mate, Im sorry!” Louis yelled, his voice high pitched. “I didn’t know you were in here! I wanted to borrow Dylans laptop!”

Niall dropped his head down, shaking it in irritation. He said hovering over me as he composed himself before meeting my eyes. His lips were swollen, his face flushed. His eyes were bright, the blue piercing me. He sighed loudly, giving me a small grin before rolling to the side to find his shirt.

I took a moment to compose myself as well, before sitting up and pulling my knees to my chest.

“Can I come out now?” Louis called from the bathroom.

“You may as well,” Niall said as he pulled his shirt over his head. “You need to come out so I can kick your arse.” Nialls accent was thicker with arousal, which only made me want him more.

Louis appeared around the corner, shaking his head. “I am so sorry!”

“Its fine Louis.” I said, feeling completely exposed despite my clothing. “Just knock louder next time okay?”

“I promise I will knock, text, email, and call before I ever come into your room again.” He assured me.

I reached down and passed him my laptop. “Here you go.”

“Thanks” he said, before scurrying from the room calling out more ‘sorrys’ as he went.

Niall turned back to me, running his hands through his hair. I grinned at me, before sliding closer to sit next to me.

“Well,” he said, bending a knee up to rest an arm over it.

“Yeah,” I said with a laugh. “Well.”

Niall and I looked at each other for a while, our eyes scanning each others face. Im sure my lips were swollen like his, and the thought made me smile.

“I guess I will see you tomorrow?” he sighed, running his hand through his hair again.

“I guess so.”

He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss against my lips. His hand stroked my cheek, before he pressed a few small kisses to my mouth and pulled back.

“I better go before I cant make myself leave.” He said, sliding off the bed with a groan.

I laughed as he stood, adjusting his low slung jeans. I thought he was going to leave then, but he quickly spun around, hopped back onto the bed, grabbing my ankles. He pulled me towards him as I squealed, falling onto me and kissing me passionately. I laughed against his lips, my hands on his shoulders.

Giving me a few more kisses for good measure, he groaned as he pushed himself off the bed. “Ok, for real this time. Im going.”

I stayed laying where I was, half expecting him to come back to me. He didn’t, pausing at the foot of the bed to grin at me.

“See you in the morning.” He breathed, his voice husky.

“See you.”

He left quickly before he was tempted to jump back into bed with me. I heard the door click behind him, before I slid up and pulled myself under the covers. Flicking off the light, I grabbed my phone and quickly texted Taylor.

Me: wait till I talk to u in the am


	14. Chapter 14

I slept surprisingly well that night. I deep, dreamless sleep in complete comfort and contentment. I woke mid morning, the light streaming into the room from the sheer covered windows. I felt well rested, stretching my arms over my head before sliding out of bed and padding towards the bathroom. After a quick shower, I was brushing my teeth when I noticed a dark spot on my neck.

The toothbrush froze in my mouth.

I remembered then how Niall had marked me the night before, my fingers grazing the sensitive skin lightly. My face warmed at the memory of his lips on mine, our bodies pressed together as we clung to each other. It was suddenly very hot in the bathroom.

Finishing up quickly, I threw on jeans and a fitted grey t-shirt. My fingers kept finding their way to my neck, feeling the mark gently. My phone buzzed on the night stand, breaking me from my thoughts of the night before.

Taylor: you up?

Me: yeah

Taylor: come down to the dining room for breakfast

Me: k

Sliding my phone and room key into the back pocket of my jeans, I headed down to the dining room on the first floor of the hotel.

I could hear the loud talking coming from the small dining room the moment I stepped off the elevator. Obviously most of our group was in there, as I could hear Pauls booming laugh.

As I stepped into the room, several people starting whooping, catcalling and clapping. I faltered in my step as I made my way towards where they sat in a cluster of tables near the back corner of the room.

“There she is” Mike called out, clapping.

“Niall tucker you out last night, love?” Harry yelled, earning him a smack from Taylor.

My eyes shot to Niall, who stood from his chair to come up to me, a shy smile on his face. When he reached me, he placed his hands on my hips, before leaving down to my ear.

All he said was ‘Louis’ and I knew what he meant.

I shot Louis a death glare, which he at least had the decency to look nervous.

Niall lead me over to a seat next to him, and I could feel my face blazing with embarrassment. Apparently not only did Louis not know how to knock, he also didn’t know how to keep his big mouth shut.

Everyone seemed to know about Niall and my little tryst the night before.

I sat across from Taylor, who was beaming. I kicked at her under the table, which only made her smile wider.

The meal was awkward, mainly because of the occasion comment made by someone in our group. More than once, Nialls hand would find my knee, or brush across my hand on the table. Just sweet little touches.

“I see you marked your territory, eh, Nialler?” Harry said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

It took me a moment to realize he meant the mark Niall had left on my neck. I immediately cursed myself for not leaving my hair down to cover the area. My hand reached up to cover the spot instinctively, but Liam pulled my hand back down from his place beside me.

“Nice job, Niall. Good form, decent color.” He teased. I swatted at him before pulling my hair over my shoulder to try and hide the mark.

I ate a small amount before sliding back and announcing my departure. Niall stood as well, turning to follow me as Taylor called out that she would be up soon.

“Make sure you knock!” Louis called over to her. “No one needs to see what I saw last night.”

Everyone laughed as we exited the dining room.

Niall and I waited for the elevator in silence, our eyes both locked on the changing numbers above the doors signaling the its descent. Niall had his hands deep in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels.

When the elevator arrived, he stepped inside quietly. The moment the doors closed, however, Niall turned to me, crossing the small space in two long strides, pressing me against the side of the elevator. His hands were placed on either side of my face, his body pressing me against the cool wall at my back. His lips found mine quickly, urgently, and I couldn’t stop the small gasp of surprise that left my lips. Niall took the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss.

My hands wound themselves in the front of his shirt, his hips pushing into me.

He pulled away after several heated moments. His grin was cheeky, his eyes blazing.

“Ive been waiting to do that all morning.” He admitted, sliding his thumb over my cheek.

Before I had the chance to respond, the elevator doors opened, and a middle aged couple stepped inside. They froze, taking in the sight of Niall wrapped around me, pressing me into the wall. Niall stepped back, clearing his throat, crossing his arms over his chest. I straightened from the wall, giving the couple an apologetic look.

The couple entered, avoiding our eyes and turning to face forward, their backs to us. We rode up one more floor to reach our destination, and from the corner of my eye I could see Niall holding back laughter. The bell sounded signaling our arrival, and Niall and I excused ourselves passed the couple as we exited. The moment the doors closed, we burst out laughing.

“Why is it that people always seem to walk in on us in compromising positions?” I asked as we reached my door.

“I don’t know, but its starting to tick me off.” He admitted. I turned to face him as he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around me. I looked into his blue eyes, my hands placing themselves on his chest.

It was somehow strange for me to think that I had been able to resist this boy as long as I did. I still had doubts, obviously, as anyone would with any knew relationship, or whatever this was. Especially considering the unique position we were in with Nialls career. But regardless of all that, I was content.

Niall dipped his head down, kissing me gently. It was completely opposite from our passionate elevator encounter, but still sent chills down my spine. His hands were at my waist, his fingers playing with the hem of my t-shirt, lifting it slightly so his thumbs could skim the skin underneath.

I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him even closer.

The elevator chimed, the doors sliding open to reveal Harry and Taylor stepping out into the hall. Harry called out a rude comment, causing Niall to lift his head from mine.

“Jesus Christ,” he yelled. “Every fucking time.”

I couldn’t help myself from laughing, placing my forehead against his chest.

We spent the rest of the afternoon laying around Harrys room. We played cards, chatted, and ordered room service for lunch. Niall hardly let me go, his arms around me as we lay on the bed, our legs tangled together. He would occasionally kiss my neck, or the side of my head, always needing some kind of additional contact.

During the concert that night, Niall seemed to have even more energy than usual, if that was even possible. Taylor would nudge me occasionally, whenever Niall would shoot me a grin, or a wink, or shake his bum in my direction. The concert the next night went along quite similarly.

The night after the final concert in London, Taylor was scheduled to fly back home to LA. I hated the thought of her leaving, and the two of us cried like children in the lobby of the hotel as we departed on the buses for Paris and she was to head to the airport.

“Call me when you get home.” I made her promise as we hugged.

“I will.” She agreed, pulling back. “And keep me posted.” She added with a wink. I knew she meant with me and Niall.

“I will.”

I rode on my own bus as we drove overnight to Paris for two shows. I used the time to finish my paper, submitting it online. I knew I was slacking on my assignments, but there was so much going on over the last few days especially. I mentally scolded myself, promising I would spend less time making out with Niall and more time reading.

Pfft. Yeah, okay.

I finished editing the latest images and emailed them to the management team. At least I was keeping up with these obligations, even if school was slacking.

We arrived in Paris in the early hours of the morning, all unloading and sliding into our rooms for a few hours sleep. A few hours for me turned out to be up until an hour before we had to leave for the venue. I was annoyed at myself. I had always wanted to come to Paris, and here I was, sleeping in the hotel all frigging day.

I was a little grumpy that evening, and Niall seemed to pick up on it as we sat in the guys dressing room before the show.

“You okay, babe?”

“Yeah. Just tired. And annoyed.”

Niall laughed. “Why?”

“I spent my whole first day in Paris sleeping. Ive wanted to see this city my whole life and I napped it away.” I pouted.

He put his arm around my shoulders. “I will take you out tomorrow, okay? We will make up for it.”

Louis overheard us, piping up. “I wanna come too!” This earned him a glare from Niall. “Oh com’on, Nialler, I wanna play too.”

“Me too!” Harry said, raising his hand from his chair.

I laughed at the look on Nialls face. He obviously didn’t want the guys coming with us, but that probably wouldn’t stop them from coming anyways. 

 

I loved Paris. I seriously, completely loved this city. I wanted to move here and wander the streets and eat pastries all day.

We woke up early, much to Harrys complaining, and with hats and sunglasses hiding their identities (and Mike and Steve in tow a short distance behind) we headed off around the city. We wandered the streets, enjoying the architecture and culture. We went to Notre Dame, did a quick tour of the Louve, and after lunch at a small café with the best croissants I had ever had, we went to the Eiffel Tower. We rode to the top, the view of the city incredible. We took embarrassing selfies and photos of each other, before heading back down.

“I want a picture that looks like Im holding the tower!” Harry yelled, running a few yards in front of me and holding his hand out like a platter.

I had to keep telling him to move his hand because it kept dropping down too low before he finally had it in a position that looked like he was holding up the tower. Louis joined in, and the two held stupid poses in front as I snapped their photos.

“You’re turn.” Harry said, coming and taking my camera away from me.

I walked to where Harry and Louis had stood, putting my arms out to the sides, a big smile on my face. Harry took a few pictures, before pushing Niall towards me to join in the photo.

He put his arm around me casually, while Harry took a couple more pictures.

“Oh com’on,” he whined, lowering the camera. “You look like fucking brother and sister. Show me a little love!”

I rolled my eyes at him, as Niall grabbed me, one hand on my waist, the other at the back of my head, dipping me back dramatically and kissing me deeply. My arms wrapped around his neck to keep from falling back, as Niall slid a hand to my leg, bending it up to cradle my hip into his.

Louis starting cheering, and I could hear my camera clicking frantically as Harry took our picture. Straightening up, Niall pressed a few soft kissing on my lips before pulling back to grin at me.

I giggled nervously as he led me back to our group.

“Now that’s what Im talking about.” Harry said approvingly as he handed back my camera.

We returned to the hotel, changed quickly, and headed out to the venue. As the guys were getting ready, everyone was talking excitedly about the plans for Stephs birthday party that night at a local club in the city. The guys had been looking forward to it for weeks, partly because it was a night out, and mostly because it meant they could embarrass Steph moreso than usual with an excuse. The show ended, but the guys were still full of energy as we headed back to the hotel to get ready.

Niall caught my hand as I headed towards my room.

“What are you wearing tonight?”

“I have no idea.” I laughed. “Why?”

He shrugged with a smile. “Just curious.” He squeezed my hand before retreating into his room.

Once inside my own, I rummaged through my suitcase. I hadnt really packed anything to go to a club. I wasn’t even sure I owned anything club worthy. I was about to give up and go ask to borrow something from Cherie when I found the little black dress Taylor had tossed into my suitcase. It was tight, strapless, with a hem that fell mid-thigh. I fished out a pair of stilettos, and grinned.

This would do.


	15. Chapter 15

Ugh. I hated makeup. I seriously believed that the person who invented eyeliner should be drug out into the street and shot. I so rarely wore makeup that any time I had to put anything on more than lip gloss it turned into a hot mess.

I lightly curled my hair and left it down, falling in waves around my shoulders and down my back. I applied light eye shadow, with dramatic eyeliner to make my eyes look larger. A few coats of mascara made my lashes look fuller and longer. I kept my lips pale, using a lightly tinted gloss. It was the best I could do since I hadnt brought much in the way of makeup, and had very limited skills.

Sliding on my dress and shoes, I grabbed a small clutch purse and put in my room key, phone, identification and a little money. I could hear voices in the hall and knew most people were probably already milling about, passing through to each others rooms. Giving myself one last look, I stepped out into the hall.

Liam was leaning against the wall, his girlfriend Sophia in front of him. They were leaning in close, obviously enthralled with each other despite the rowdiness around them. She hadnt been able to join us in London, so made a special trip to Paris to spend some time with Liam. Across the hall I could see into Harrys room as he bounced around on one foot trying to pull on his socks. Zayn was talking to Louis, checking his phone. Several other people were standing around, coming in and out of rooms. Our group took up the majority of the floor, which was good, since we were usually pretty loud. A few people were holding drinks, so I knew pre-drinking had begun.

I walked over to join Louis and Zayn, teetering slightly on my heels. Zayn gave me an appreciative smile, as Louis slung an arm over my shoulders. “Looking good, love.”

I felt a hand on my hip, pulling me back slightly.

“Watch the hands, Tomlinson.” Niall said behind me as he pressed himself against me. His fingers dug into my hip slightly. I turned to face him with a smile. He looked so good. Dark trousers, a white button up shirt with the first few buttons undone, showing his collarbones and the top of his chest. His hair was styled the way I loved it, and he smelled incredible. I could detect the slight scent of alcohol on his breath. He had been taking part in the pre-drinking festivities, I could tell.

His eyes slid down my body, his lips parting. “You look fucking amazing, babe.”

“You look quite good yourself.” I smiled at him as he pulled me closer and nuzzled into my neck. I remembered he always got a little more handsy when he had been drinking.

“Ok, lets go!” Steve called, trying to round everyone up.

We all piled into three large SUVs. I was squished between Niall and Cherie, and Niall took advantage of the limited space between us, one arm across my shoulders, nuzzling into my neck, while the other hand ran up and down my leg, tracing little patterns on my bare skin.

We arrived at the club, spilling out onto the street and up the steps through the door. The room was huge, with hundreds of people pressed tightly together, dancing, grinding and swaying to the loud music. The lights flickered with the beat and vibrated through us as we made our way to a VIP area blocked off near the back of the club. We found extra security at the entrance to the area, pulling back a red rope to allow up entrance. Once in this area, there was more space. Large black leather couches lined the walls, glass tables scattered around covered in champagne, glasses, beer and liquor. It was clearly set up to include everything we could have wanted. Everyone scattered, some heading out to the dance floor, others taking seats around the room. Everyone grabbed drinks, the energy climbing. I even took a glass of champagne, figuring why not.

It was the most fun I had had in ages. We danced, laughed, and drank. Liam and Zayn brought out a cake a few hours after our arrival, and everyone sang happy birthday to Steph. The cake had a caricature of her, obviously drawn my Zayn.

Niall was all over me. On the dance floor, his hands slid over my hips, my stomach, my legs. Anywhere he could touch. Whenever we would take a break and sit on one of the couches, his lips were on mine, or my neck, or my shoulder. He had had a few more drinks since arriving, the alcohol making him even less inhibited. I dodged him hands occasionally when they slid a little too high for a public place, catching his eye to give him a warning look. He would always just wiggle his eyebrows at me or smile innocently.

He was and evil man.

I had started my second glass of champagne, and was feeling a little tipsy. I rarely drank, so pretty much any alcohol would have me running down the street naked with a lampshade on my head. Combine that with loud music, bright lights, and Niall Horan all over me every chance he got, I was feeling a little dizzy. It was incredibly hot in the club, my hair clinging to my neck as my skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

It was after 1am, when I decided it was time for a quick trip to the bathroom. Niall and Harry had been bickering for the last several minutes about something random, so I took the opportunity to slip away and headed through the dancing crowd towards the loo. On my way back, I was squeezing through the writhing bodies on the dance floor when a hair of large hands gripped me firmly from behind. I turned around smiling, expecting to find Niall smiling down at me. Instead I was met with a pair of unfamiliar brown eyes. I stepped back slightly, but the stranger just followed, his hands still on my hips. He was tall, with black hair, and flat brown eyes. His skin had an olive tone, and he wore a black t-shirt and dark pants. He pressed himself to me, pulling on my hips in an attempt to get me to move with him. I put my hands on his chest as I tried to push him away, but he interpreted this as me wanting to feel him up. He pulled me close, his head dipping towards mine. I leaned back quickly, pushing him away hard. He hardly budged. I twisted away, trying to pull from him and get back to the VIP area, but he wasn’t taking the hint.

“Where are you going, cher?” he asked, his French accent faint over the loud music.

“Back to my friends” I stated, pulling my hand from his as he grabbed me again.

“Oh, I think I can be more fun than them.” He said, pulling me back towards him.

I laughed. “I doubt that.”

“Now, don’t be like that.” He said, a hand placed firmly to the curve of my lower back. He pushed himself against me hard, dipping his other hand to grab my ass. His head lowered to mine as he attempted to kiss me.

Instinctively, my hand flew out and slapped him hard across the face. He staggered back, clearly not expecting such a harsh refusal. I took the chance to walk away quickly before he had the chance to react or grab me again. Reaching the safety of the VIP area, I found my breath ragged.

I also found Niall standing just inside the ropes, his blue eyes blazing.

“What the fuck was that?” he asked angrily.

“Nothing,” I said, grabbing my drink and taking a swig. I could still feel the guys hands on me. “Just some jerk getting handsy.”

Niall grabbed my arm, turning me to him. “You didn’t seem to be fighting too hard.”

My eyes popped open at him, as I almost choked on my drink.

“Are you kidding me? Did you not see me slap him?”

“I saw your hands on him.” He said, his fingers pressing into my arm. I jerked my arm away from his hold.

“Get a grip, Niall.” I spat, irritated that he was acting like such a dick. I had to watch thousands of girls every day screaming at him, pawing at him, making crude remarks and signs at every concert. Some guy gets touchy and I slap him, and he has the nerve to get pissed?

“I don’t like some other guy touching you.” He stated, as if I had any control over what had just happened.

I was about to yell back at him, shout some brilliant, scathing remark, when Steve came up to us.

“Ok, guys, its time to go.” He seemed oblivious to the glaring match between Niall and I as he moved on to round up the rest of our group. Shooting Niall a look, I turned and headed towards the exit, closely followed my a very drunk Harry.

The SUVs were out front, and we clustered around to pile in as best we could. We were much louder now that the alcohol and heat from the club had settled in. Liam and Sophia were kissing like it was their last day on earth, while Louis danced alone in a circle.

I stood away from Niall as we shuffled towards one of the vehicles. When the door opened, Niall climbed in, heading to the two seats at the very back. I was not in the mood to deal with him, so moved to sit in the middle row. He was clearly not for that idea as he grabbed me and pulled me into the back with him. I shuffled to the far side of the seat, trying to get distance, my arms crossed over my chest.

I was so angry with him. He had always been so sweet, gentle. Yes, passionate, especially lately, but never had he acted like a jealous asshole before. Part of me knew it was probably the alcohol, but a larger part of me didn’t care.

Once everyone was loaded into the car, the door shut and we pulled away. Everyone was talking at once, laughing, singing, acting foolish. Niall and I seemed ignored in the back of the car, as I stared silently ahead.

I felt him shift beside me as he twisted towards me, pulling his leg up to cross his ankle on his knee. When he reached over to me, I pulled away slightly. His hand froze mid-reach. I didn’t look at him, but could tell he was mad. He moved again, pulling his leg up further to place his foot on the seat, leaning his leg against its back before reaching over and pulling me into him so I was between his legs and my back was to his chest. His arms crossed over my body, holding me still. I tried to pull away, but it was useless.

He leaned his chin into my neck.

“What? You don’t want my hands on you now?” he growled.

“Not if you’re going to be an asshole.” I retorted, still not looking at him. I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

“Would you rather his?” he spat the last word, and I wanted to slap him just as I had the stranger who started this whole mess.

I didn’t answer him, choosing to try and pull away. Niall just pulled me back, one arm pinning mine down while his other hand brushed my hair away from my neck so he could have access to my skin. His lips met the sensitive crook of my neck, the spot he knew was my undoing. His hot breath on my heated skin gave me chills, as he trailed his tongue along my shoulder, leaving nips and bites along the way.

Moving his lips back to my ear, he exhaled. “You sure you don’t want me to touch you?”

I didn’t answer. I just stayed still, pressed tightly against him. As if I had any other choice. His lips found my ear lobe, his teeth grazing the flesh. I inhaled sharply, which was clearly the reaction he wanted. He slid his free hand across my stomach, up to my chest. He gave my one breast a light squeeze, running his thumb over my nipple, before trailing it down to the hem of my dress. It was short already, but clearly not short enough for Niall. He hooked his fingers around the hem, pulling his up to fully expose my legs. He could see the black lace of my underwear as he looked over my shoulder, a rumble escaping his lips.

I pushed away slightly, feeling awkward as he trailed his fingers, feather light, along the inside of my thigh. If anyone in the seats in front of us turned around right now, they would get a hell of a show. And I was tired of everyone seeing us in less than appropriate situations.

Niall didn’t seem to give a fuck. My resistance just seemed to urge him on. I had never seen him this forceful. It didn’t even really seem like him. He looked like him. Felt like him. Smelled like him. But the gentleness I had equated with him was nowhere to be found as he slid his fingers over my middle across the lace of my knickers.

The light sensation caused my hips to involuntarily shift, Nialls arm contracting to hold me still. His lips had continued their assault on any part of my skin he could find. Teasing me more, he deepened the pressure of his touch. I tried to snap my legs together to keep him from his goal, but he slung his bent leg over mine, pulling it to the side. I was complete wrapped in him. And completely at his mercy.

After a few more strokes, he lifted his hand from my center. I almost sighed with relief, but it was short lived. His hand dipped beneath the lace of my knickers, sliding down so that his fingers could continue their mission without the intrusion of the fabric. My hips pushed backwards away from his hand, but this only ground them into his crotch. A groan left his lips as he breathed into my ear. “Easy, baby.” His voice was husky, his accent thicker with arousal.

His finger found my sensitive spot, making small circles. Heat rose up my body at the sensation, as my back arched against his grip across my chest. He continued his torture, every movement growing in intensity, before slipping a long finger inside me without warning.

I gasped, my head falling against his shoulder. His breath was in my ear, coming out in ragged exhales. “Shhh.”

I bit my lip to keep myself quiet. Any thoughts of escape had left my mind as his fingers found every possible sensation in my body. He slid a second finger inside me, forcing a moan from my clenched teeth. He sucked on my neck at the same time, the two actions causing my heart to thud in my chest and my breathing to become increasingly uneven. The fingers inside me circled, curling forward and hitting my g-spot. I almost yelled out, and could feel Niall chuckle behind me.

The bastard was enjoying every minute of my undoing.

“You like that, babe?” he said, checking to make sure our actions remained secret. No one seemed to notice anything going on less than a few feet away from them.

I couldn’t answer. I just pushed back against him again, grinding my hips into him. His hand followed, still connected to me. I felt him hardening against my backside as he pressed further into me. I didn’t think it was possible, but he found a way.

I had always admired the way his hands moved across the guitar, his expert fingers knowing exactly where to touch. He was proving that this skill was not just limited to instruments.

His fingers increased their pace, knowing we were almost back at the hotel. His thumb made torturous circles across my clit, as the wave of pleasure rose in my core.

“Com’on, baby.” He whispered. “Show me. Show me no one else can make you feel like this.”

Part of me wanted to slap him for his comment, but the more dominant part was coming undone under his hands. With a final curl of his fingers combined with a slight pressure at my center, I felt the world shift, heat and fire rising out of me. I whimpered as I bit harder into my lip, almost drawing blood in my effort to keep quiet. The last thing I needed was Louis seeing this. I would never live it down.

As I reached my climax, Nialls grip on my loosened. “Good girl.” He praised, slowing his fingers as I came down, before sliding his hand out of my knickers. I sat limply against him, breathless, sweaty, and content. He crossed both arms over me, holding me close in a loving embrace while I panted in an attempt to steady my heart.

“Ok,” Steve called as he put the car in park. “Everybody out.”

The door slid open, and everyone started hopping out and onto the pavement. I was actually glad we were in the back, therefore the last to exit. It gave me a few moments to compose myself. I climbed out, my legs like jelly. I stumbled into Harry, to righted me. “Easy, Dylan.” He grinned cheekily. “You’re supposed to be falling for Niall. I know Im cuter, but hey, Im dating your best friend.” I swatted at him as we made our way into the hotel and towards the elevator. Niall kept a hand on my waist as he wanted silently. I could almost feel his smug grin even though I didn’t turn around to look at him.

The longer we waited, the more angry I got. How dare he. First, yelling at ME for some jerk pawing at me. Blaming me as if I had wanted to be felt up by some random stranger. Being angry with me even though I did nothing wrong. Then choosing to exert his ownership over me in a kinky back seat rendezvous just inches from his friends and coworkers?

By the time we made it to our floor, I was fuming. The effects of my orgasm were long faded, replaced with pure anger. I walked quickly up to my door, pulling my room key out. I was just about to slip it in the lock when Niall pressed himself against me.

“Care for round two?” he asked, dipping his head to my ear. His voice sent shivers down my spine despite my anger.

I turned to him to glare. “I don’t think so.”

He seemed to finally notice my face, and my expression was obviously not the one he expected to find.

“Whats wrong?” he asked, innocently.

“Whats wrong?!” I almost shouted. I glanced down the hall to see that almost everyone had entered their rooms, and those that hadnt were far enough away to not hear our conversation. “You felt me up in the backseat because you were jealous of some guy that I fucking slapped! You practically hand raped me!”

His eyes popped open at my choice of words. “Dylan,” he started, looking the most sober he had all night.

I threw my hand up to silence him. “Don’t. Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it. Im going to bed. ALONE.”

Before he could say anything else, I opened my door, stepping inside and closing it quickly.

The last thing I saw was Nialls shocked and confused face as the door cut him off from me.


	16. Chapter 16

The screeching of my alarm awoke me with a start. My head shot up from the pillow, and immediately I wanted to die. The room spun, my head pounded, and I was sure part of my stomach was trying to make its way through my belly button.

I fell back against the pillow, reaching blindly for my phone. I pulled it out of the wall in my attempt to bring it closer, the charge cord dangling as I silenced the infernal buzzing and threw it across the room.

Ugh. I had never been hungover before. Now I knew why drinking had never appealed to me. I had seen countless drunks in my time working in the ER, always reasserting after each time that I would never get drunk. Granted I only had a glass and a half of champagne last night, but I was admittedly a lightweight, and should have known better.

I groaned, rolling over and covering my face with the comforter. My mind wandered painfully over the events of the night before. Some people claimed they never remembered anything the morning after a drunken night. I, unfortunately remembered everything. The party, the club, the asshole with his hands all over me. Oh, and the stranger on the dance floor. My anger towards Niall returned, along with a wave of embarrassment. I couldn’t believe he had done that. And I hated that I had let him. Even reacted. Especially that I enjoyed it. I would be a fucking liar if I said it hadnt been incredible. His hands were unbelievably skilled, and although I usually loved the feel of them on me, the way he had pressed into me the night before made me feel cheap.

I knew that hadnt been his intent, but it didn’t matter. You don’t always remember what a person does, but you always remember how they made you feel. And he made me feel dirty.

I rolled back over, looking towards the clock on the night stand. I had an hour to get my shit together and get down to the bus. We were leaving for Amsterdam that morning for another show the next day. Today was a travelling day.

The thought of being on a rocking bus for the next who knew how many hours made bile rise in my throat. Oh fuck me. This was going to be horrible.

I slid out of bed, had a quick shower, pulled on yoga pants and a sweatshirt, before threw my wrinkled clothes into my suitcase and heading down to the lobby. Only half our group was there, the majority of the latecomers those who had taken part in the previous nights festivities. The few who were there from the night before looked as bad as I felt.

I tossed my suitcase into the cargo hold of the bus, stepping up and slinging my laptop and carryon onto a bunk inside. I stepped back out of the bus and over to the dining room to grab a much needed tea. I needed something to clear my mind. I didn’t know if tea would work, but I needed it. I tried to remember some of the home remedies the doctors at the ER used to tell me. I was sure none of them would have been as good and a few IV boluses and a piggyback of Maxeran, but since I didn’t have that on hand, I had to make due.

Coming back towards the bus, my warm tea in hand, I saw Niall throwing his bags into the bus. I froze where I stood, just as he turned and saw me. He had on grey track pants and a white t-shirt. His hair was a mess, and dark sunglasses shielded his blue eyes. Even though he looked like shit he was still gorgeous.

I started to walk quickly towards my bus, desperate to make it aboard and away from him. He ran up behind me before I could get too far. He took me gently by the arm, turning me around. I pulled quickly out of his grasp, spinning to face him.

“Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it.” I said quickly before he could spout out whatever speech he had prepared.

He paused for a minute, before running his hands through his hair. “Im sorry,” he started. “Im so, so, so sorry.”

I shook my head. “Don’t bother saying sorry. Sorry doesn’t make it okay.”

“What can I do to fix this?” he said, desperation in his voice.

I looked at him, my heart clenching. I was crazy about this stupid boy. I loved hearing his voice, watching him on stage. His laugh was the funniest sound in the world to me now. Even though this, whatever it was, between us was new, I had spent more than a month learning him. Unfortunately last night tainted all the things I loved.

“How about you don’t do anything to be sorry for?” I said finally, before turning around and climbing quickly onto my bus and away from him. I headed to the back of the bus, half hoping he wouldn’t follow me, half praying he would.

He didn’t follow me. 

 

I spent the entire bus ride to Amsterdam in my bunk sleeping. I took two gravol and chugged a big glass of water, before climbing in and falling fast asleep. The only time I got up was to pee, thanks to the fucking water I drank. Returning to my bunk, I checked my phone.

Niall: Im sorry

Niall: please talk to me

Niall: Im coming on your bus at the next stop if you don’t respond.

Niall: please

My throat tightened slightly. Ugh. He was killing me.

I popped my head out from behind the curtain of my bunk and called down to Cherie who was laying on a couch at the table not far away.

“Have we stopped yet?”

She looked over at me, her eyes red. She had been doing shots the night before, and obviously felt like shit. “Yeah, about an hour ago.” She confirmed, her arm barely moving from across her face as she hid from the light. “Niall came on looking for you, but you were sleeping, so he left.”

I nodded before retreated back into the confines of my bunk.

I turned back to my phone and scrolled through the last few messages.

Maui: whats up? Miss u

Taylor: Im home.

Taylor: I got a call from Niall this am. Whats going on? He sounds really upset.

Ugh. So he should! I thought angrily before tossing the phone down and pulling my pillow under me. I was thankful that I fell back asleep easily, and didn’t wake until we pulling in front of the hotel in Amsterdam.

I gathered my bags and got my key from Paul before heading to my room. I didn’t see Niall. I assumed he was giving me the space I so obviously needed. Throwing my stuff on the floor, I pulled the blackout curtains across the window, kicked off my shoes, took off my yoga pants and traded them for sleep shorts before climbing into the bed. I twisted around, removing my bra without taking off my shirt, tossing it on the floor. I didn’t feel quite as shitty as I had that morning, but that didn’t mean I was up to facing the world either.

I was just drifting off when my phone started to ring. I was tempted to ignore it, but decided to answer it when I saw it was Taylor.

“Hello?” I said, my voice gravely.

“Whats going on?” she asked immediately.

“Nice to talk to you too.” I answered with sarcasm, slinging my arm over my eyes.

“What happened last night,” she pressed, ignoring my mood. “Niall called me saying you weren’t talking to him.”

“Before you get all on his side, did he tell you why?”

“Just that you had had a fight.”

I snorted. “That’s not exactly how it went down.” I proceeded to give Taylor all the details of the nights events, leaving nothing out. I didn’t usually edit when talking to Taylor, so when I say I told her everything, I mean everything. When I finished, she was quiet for a moment before she spoke.

“Wow.” Was all she said.

“Yeah. Wow.”

“Huh”

“Yeah”

There was a long pause, before I started to get annoyed. I was still feeling like shit, so wasn’t in the best mood to play ‘poor Niall’. “So now do you understand why Im not talking to him.”

“Yeah, I do.” She agreed. “But hes really upset about it. You know him. You know he would never do anything to hurt you.” I couldn’t believe she was defending him, when she added. “And really, he didn’t hurt you. He gave you a mind blowing orgasm. You should be proud that’s your man.”

My eyes popped open, and I hated the fact that I laughed. “TAYLOR! For fuck sake.”

She laughed. “What? Its true”

“You are the worst friend ever, have I told you that lately?” I said, rubbing my forehead.

“Whatever.” She answered, snickering. “Seriously, though. He was drunk. You were tipsy. Hes crazy about you, so he got a little jealous.”

“A little?”

She ignored me and continued. “He really is sorry. Just talk to him. You cant avoid him for the next 6 months, you know.”

“I can try.”

“Dylan, don’t be a bitch. Just talk to him. Seriously. Hes nuts about you and feels really bad. Hes the first great guy you’ve ever dated. So he fucked up. Hes a guy, that’s what they do.” She paused for a moment before finishing her thought. “And besides, makeup sex is the best kind.”

I burst out laughing. “Ok, Im done. Goodbye Taylor.”

“Just promise me you will talk to him?”

“Fine, whatever. I will talk to him, okay?”

“Okay. Call me tomorrow and let me know what happened.”

“Okay, bye.” I just really wanted to get her off the phone.

“Bye.” She said, before I heard the click signaling the call had ended.

I put my phone back on the table and flipped over. I was still mad, but after talking to Taylor I was not quite as ready to feed Niall to the hungry fans. I knew he was a good guy, despite the events of last night. He was amazing. I just had to figure out how much I was willing to push him away because of a mistake.

I had just started to drift off to sleep when a knock sounded at my door. I wasn’t going to answer it, but decided if it was Niall, I may as well get this over with.

Sliding out of bed, I padded over to the door. I peaked through the peep hole, finding a strange man in a baseball cap on the other side. I opened the door cautiously.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“Dylan Page?” he said, a clipboard in his hand, a long box under his arm.

“Yes.”

“Sign here.” He handed me the clipboard and a pen, pointing to a line at the bottom of the page. I glanced at the company name at the top of the form. Roses Roses. Scribbling my name, the man took back the clipboard, handing me the long box.

“Have a nice day.” He said, striding back down the hall.

I closed the door, before crossing the room and climbing onto the bed. I reached over and flicked on a light to brighten the dark room, turning back to the long white box. Lifting the lid, I found a dozen red roses. The smell surrounded me with sweet perfume, a smile inadvertently coming to my face. There was a small note card in the middle and I lifted it tentatively. I didn’t need a card to know who these were from.

Flipping it open, I read the loopy handwriting.

Please. N xx


	17. Chapter 17

I spent the hours leading into the late evening enjoying the solace in my room. Since I didn’t have a vase for the roses, I filled the tall ice bucket from the bathroom with water and popped the roses in. It looked a little stupid, but it was the best I could do. The room filled with their sweet scent as they sat on the table in the corner. I ordered room service, realizing I hadnt eaten all day when my stomach started making little noises. I still didn’t feel great, but figured I could at least try and eat something. I had intended to do some reading for school, but that quickly fell to the wayside as I Skyped my mother, Maui, and my cousin back home, watched some epic fail videos on YouTube (watching other people do stupid shit was something that always made me feel better) and just randomly surfed online.

Out of boredom and more than a little curiosity, I googled Niall. There were a few random articles, not saying anything too exciting. Until I noticed a familiar image next to one. Clicking it open, I scanned the headline.

‘One Direction’s Niall Horan romances lady friend in Paris’

The picture was one of Niall dipping me down to kiss me in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was taken at an awkward angle, much different from the directly line Harry had had when he took the picture, but it was definitely us. We hadnt noticed any paparazzi during our walk, but that didn’t mean that they hadnt been there. Obvious they were.

I read through the article, which was short. It described how we went up the tower, then wandered the surrounding area, holding hands and looking ‘quite in love’. I snorted. The shit these people came up with always made me laugh. I almost choked when I got near the end.

“Sources confirm that Horan’s lady friend is the tour photographer, Dylan Page. The source has said that the two have gotten very close, and are inseparable since the tour began earlier this year.”

Oh my god. They fucking named me? How did they even know who I was! UGH! This was just fucking great. Just what I needed.

I closed my computer with a huff, tossing it aside as I laid back on my bed. I had taken a shower earlier, my hair still damp and annoying as it spilled from the messy knot on top of my head. I had chosen to stay in my pajamas, just shorts and a tank. I had no intention on going out today.

The improvement in my mood from watching complete strangers hurt themselves then post it on Youtube was now dropping. So much for blending in to the background. I wondered how many people had read the article, or if there were anymore like it. I honestly didn’t want to look.

I grabbed my phone off the nightstand, texting Taylor

Me: there is an article online saying Niall and I are dating

A long pause dragged on before she wrote back.

Taylor: really? Hang on, let me look.

Again, long pause.

Taylor: nice picture, tho

Me: focus, pls

Taylor: so what. You are dating

Me: Im not really sure what we are doing

Taylor: I could say some dirty things right now, but wont

Me: bitch

Taylor: have you talked to him?

Me: no

Taylor: why not?!?! :(

Me: I haven’t seen him

Taylor: ugh. You irritate me

Me: you piss me off

Taylor: I wanna smack you

Me: I wanna kick your ass

There was a long pause before Taylor wrote again. I figured she was laughing.

Taylor: luv u

I laughed.

Me: luv u 2

I knew I had to talk to Niall eventually. Taylor was right, I couldn’t avoid him forever. I wasn’t as mad as I had been, but I was still a little upset. And more than a little embarrassed. He had fucking felt me up in the backseat with all our friends around. And not only had it happened, I fucking enjoyed it. Despite my anger, I so far had NO complaints when it came to his, ahem….abilities.

I had also been thinking about something I was sure a lot of girls thought about when they started seeing a guy. Why the fuck was he pursuing me? He was completely out of my league. He was attractive, talented, famous, funny. And I was….just meh.

I honestly didn’t get it. Girls threw themselves at him every day. The guys had told me before that that kind of attention got old pretty quick, but I knew they still enjoyed it no matter what they said. A lot of their fans were WAY too young, but a lot were their age, and very pretty. Much prettier than me. So what the fuck was Niall thinking?

I looked over at the roses on the table, taking a deep breath. I could smell them across the room. I knew he felt bad. I knew he was sorry. I also knew he wasn’t ‘that guy’. The one who took advantage of girls until he was bored and moved on. I had been with that type of guy before, which contributed to my apprehension when it came to dating at all.

And then there was the whole ‘dating’ thing. Were we dating? Not exactly. We hadnt actually gone out on a date. We hung out all the time, but rarely alone. We spent every single day together, but I also spent every single day with Zayn, Liam, Louis and Harry too. So really, ‘dating’ was an uncertain label at the moment.

I pulled my legs up to bring them into my chest as I lay on my back. I ran my hands across my freshly shaven legs, wiggling my toes while my mind wandered aimlessly. I considered getting up and doing some yoga, just to get myself moving. But the thought of actually getting off this bed was not particularly appealing to me, so that idea went down the shitter pretty quick.

I glanced at my clock. It was almost eight at night. I hadnt seen or heard from anyone since we arrived in Amsterdam. I also realized just then that Niall hadnt texted me either. Hadnt called, or shown up at my door. With the exception of the flowers, he had stepped back, giving me space.

The thought made me nervous. Maybe he was mad at me. What if he thought I was too much trouble, even though he had done a pretty douchey thing. Suddenly the idea of him pulling away from me made my heart constrict, my stomach fluttering.

I did need to talk to him, and probably sooner rather than later before this whole thing went on too long. But I didn’t have the courage to ring him. I didn’t even know what I would say to him at this point. The sorrys had been said, the reasons for my anger out in the open. I honestly didn’t know what I would say to him at this point.

I started to wonder what he was doing now. Was he sitting in his room, thinking about me like I was thinking about him? Was he playing his guitar, losing himself in the music? Or was he out with the guys, blowing off steam and trying to forget about me and all the drama that last night had brought on?

A knock at the door broke me from my rambling thoughts. I sat up, waiting for a moment. Another knock echoed through the room. I slid off the bed and padded my bare feet across to the door. Pulling it open, I was greeted with a rush of relief when I saw Niall on the other side.

His hair was damp, falling across his forehead. He must have just taken a shower, I thought. He had on loose black pants, a black t-shirt over his top. Again, he was barefoot. It was like he knew that I loved that. His hands were deep in his pockets, his blue eyes regarding me with caution as if he half thought I would reach out and slap him. He looked adorable.

I stayed glued to the floor, my hand on the door as I half hid behind it. My mind wandered to how shitty I probably looked at that moment, and I mentally cursed myself for not at least doing something other than a messy knot with my hair. Ugh. As if that fucking mattered right now.

He rocked back and forth on his heels, obviously nervous.

“Hey” he finally said, tentative.

“Hey”

“Can I come in?” Ugh. Why did his accent have to be so fucking sexy? I was trying to be mad at him, dammit.

I stepped aside to allow him entrance into my room, closing the door behind him. He stood at the foot of my bed, uncertain of where to sit. I walked past him, inhaling the mixing scent of his body wash and the roses in the room as I climbed onto the bed, folding my legs under me as I faced him. After a moment, he climbed onto the bed with me, crossing his legs to sit directly in front of me. We sat like this for a few minutes, neither of us knowing what to say.

After a long silence, Nialls eyes turned to the flowers across the room.

“I see you got the flowers.” He said, his voice soft.

“Yes.” I nodded. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

He just nodded as he turned back to me. His eyes met mine, blue piercing green, and even that small contact sent my heart racing. I hated what he did to me so easily.

I held his gaze, not wanting or able to look away.

“Im sorry.” He finally said, breaking the silence.

I didn’t want to push him away anymore. I didn’t want to punish him for something I knew he felt awful about. It was done.

“I know.” I said back.

Realizing I wasn’t going to yell at him or push him away, he started speaking again quickly. “I’m so so sorry, Dylan. I honestly never meant to make you feel that way. Just the idea of some other guy touching you….” He trailed off, silencing whatever he was going to say. After a moment, he continued. “I know it doesn’t make it okay. And I promise I wont touch you like that again unless you ask me to.”

He was so incredibly sincere, the usual flirty confidence he had around me stripped down to show this shy, nervous boy trying to apologize just made me want to jump across the bed and kiss him.

But I stayed in my place, instead choosing to reach across the short distance between us and take his hand. He squeezed it tightly, before raising it to his lips, kissing the back of my hand, my knuckles, the inside of my wrist.

I realized then that I had forgiven him before he had even appeared at my door.


	18. Chapter 18

We spent the next hour laying in bed talking. We didn’t bring up the incident from the night before again, and I for one was glad. I just wanted to forget about it at this point.

I laid on my back, my hands linked over my stomach with my head turned to Niall. He was on his side, hands tucked under his head facing me. He hadnt touched me again since kissing my hand, keeping a small but noticeable distance between us at all times. He was being true to his word. He wasn’t going to touch me again until I asked him.

We talked about random things, mostly. It reminded me of my last relationship, when the ex and I would stay up until all hours on the phone, just talking, learning about each other. This was better. Not only was it nice to actually have Niall there, he was much more appealing than my ex.

I had asked him some of the things I had been wondering earlier that night, once I got up the nerve to do so.

“Can I ask you something?” I said, fiddling with my fingers.

“Anything.” He said quickly.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at him when I continued. “Why are you pursing me?”

There was a short silence before he responded. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, why? I mean, look at you,” I motion towards him with my hand to emphasize my point. “And look at me.”

“I am looking at you.” He said, my eyes meeting his to find him smirking.

“Im serious, Niall. Lets be honest. You’re out of my league. You have beautiful women throwing themselves at you all the time. I guess I just don’t get it.” I gaze fell back to my hands as they twisted in the fabric of my tank top.

“You really don’t see yourself clearly at all, do you?” he blurted out, sounding a little annoyed. His tone made me look over at him.

Propping himself up on his elbow, he glared at me.

“You think IM out of YOUR league? I think it’s the other way around.” This comment caused me to snort indelicately as he continued. “You’re brilliant. I mean, shit. You save lifes for a living. Some of the ER stories you’ve told me scare the shit out of me, but it doesn’t even faze you. You’re talented. The pictures you’ve taken of us are bloody brilliant. You’re sweet. Ive seen you with fans, and even though I know they make you nervous, you try and really listen to them when taking their pictures before shows. And you’re fucking sexy as hell. Don’t snort at me, again, or I will smack you with this pillow,” he gripped the edge of his pillow to make it clear he was serious. “but the moment I met you, I wanted you. And I don’t just mean sexually. I mean, yes, of course, that too,” he grinned evilly before finishing. “but I just wanted to be around you. I don’t feel like that about many people”

I was a little surprised at the things he was saying to me. Yes, I had asked him, but I honestly wasn’t sure what I expected him to say in return. I found myself staring at him, shocked at his honesty. He watched me, looking a little shy, before he dropped his eyes to the bed, a slightly embarrassed smirk on his lips. He started picking at the comforter.

I wanted him badly.

“Niall,” I whispered, my voice a little shaky.

His eyes rose to mine.

I rolled onto my side facing him. “Kiss me.”

He only paused for a moment, before reaching over and sliding me across the small space and into his arms. He rolled me back to lay on the bed, hovering over me slightly as he traced his finger tips along my jaw, before leaning down and kissing me gently.

I relished the feel of his lips on mine, the taste of him, the smell of him. Even the weight of his body pressing mine into the mattress made me feel complete. He kissed me gently, almost tentatively, as if he expected me to stop him. Pfft. No fucking way.

I deepened the contact, reaching up to wind my fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck and pull him closer. He sighed against my lips, and I took advantage to slip my tongue into his mouth. He met me with his, one hand sliding down my side and onto my hip. He dug his fingers into my skin.

We continued like this for several minutes, our hands wandering, our lips exploring. I pulled his bottom lip into my mouth and gave it a gentle suck. He groaned into my mouth before dipping his head into the curve of my neck, doing straight for the spot he knew would have me melting into his hands. He kissed, sucked and nipped his way along my neck, onto my shoulder and back again, leaving little bites on his travels. My breathing was ragged as my hand wound tighter into his hair, the other running down his back. When his lips came back to mine I couldn’t control the feverish response I met him with, pulling him so close I felt like I could crawl inside him. He matched my enthusiasm, his hand pulling my leg up to bend around his hip before reaching around and squeezing my bum. I pushed my hips up into his, forcing a little moan to leave his lips.

I reached down, grasping the hem of his shirt and pulling it up and over his head. Our contact was broken only long enough for me to remove the annoying material and throw it onto the floor before he was pressing back into me. My hands wandered over the soft skin exposed, my nails raking gently along his back. He shivered at this touch, and I smiled against his lips.

He pulled back slightly, breathless. “You’re killing me, babe.”

“Im doing no such thing,” I teased, running my nails across his low back as far as I could reach. I gave him an innocent look, a grin spreading across his swollen lips.

“So that is how you wanna play it, yeah?” he said, his fingers tracing along my arm. He reached down sliding the hem of my shirt up to just under my breasts. He kept his eyes on mine, watching to make sure what he was doing was okay. Obviously it was, because I didn’t even consider stopping him.

Once my mid section was exposed, he dipped his head down, running a cocktail of kisses, nips and his tongue over the skin. He gave the now damp areas a little blow, chilling the area and sending an incredible sensation up my body. I shivered, and he looked up at me with a grin before continuing on his way across my stomach. His tongue made circles around my navel, before dipping in slightly. He slid down further in the bed, his lips finding my hip bones. Pulling the edge of my shorts down slightly, he gave the area the same attention as my abdomen before moving to the other side to do the same.

It was driving me insane.

Once he was certain I was going insane thanks to his talents, he came back up to my face. Giving me a few quick kisses, he grinned proudly down at me.

“You’re an evil man,” I said, unable to stop myself from grinning back at him.

“No Im not,” he faked hurt, his lip pouting out. “Im a very nice guy.” He leaned down and kissed my right cheek. “And you,” then under my eye. “are,” my left cheek. “gorgeous.” Finally kissing under my right eye, he leaned down and kissed my lips again.

I giggled against his lips. Fuck. I hated giggling. Fuck. Shit. Fuck.

We resumed our session, mixing gentle kisses with passionate embraces. I honestly couldn’t curve into him enough. My fingers dipped under the hem of his pants, skimming the skin underneath. He reached his hand up and under my bunched up top, teasing my breast before exposing it and giving it the same treatment he had the other areas of my body. God what he could do with his mouth should be illegal.

His tongue swirled around, his teeth pulling gently as I squirmed under him. I pushed my hips up, desperate for some friction, only to be met with his hand on my hip, pressing me back down onto the bed. Coming back up to my mouth, he ran is tongue along my lower lip.

“Quit pushing into me like that or I wont be able to control myself,” he said teasingly.

“What if I don’t want you to?” I heard myself say.

He froze, his lips parted slightly in surprise. He looked down at me, judging how serious I was.

Looking at him all tousled, flushed and breathless, I knew meant what I said.

“I want you.” I whispered.

He suddenly seemed terrified. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, gently running my fingers through his hair. He watched me for a moment, waiting to see if I would change my mind. I finally had to pull him down to me and kiss him to make him realize I was serious.

He kissed me cautiously, the previous confidence and passion slightly disrupted. I slid my nails up his back again, knowing now how much he loved it. I placed my hands on his shoulders, feeling the muscles move under the warm skin. It didn’t take long for us to warm back up, and before long we were a tangled mess of limbs, lips and skin.

His hands slid up the skin of my sides, pushing my top up. I raised my arms to allow him to slide it off and over my head, throwing it somewhere behind him. He paused for a minute to admire me, a gesture that made me feel self conscious. The dim light from the lamp across the room was enough to cast everything in a warm glow, but that didn’t mean I was dark enough for my liking. Instinctively I went to cross my arms over myself, but Niall stopped me.

“Don’t,” he said, his hands on my wrists. “Don’t hide.”

I forced my eyes to his, trying to feel something of what he must see when he looked at me. After a moment, he leaned down and started kissing down the valley between my breasts, over each nipped, down my abdomen again, playing the same little game he had before. My hands knotted in his hair. By the time he came back up to me, I couldn’t take it anymore. I reached down as far as I could, my hands sliding a couple inches into either side of his boxers. I tried to push them over his hips, but his torso was longer than I could reach. Instead, I decided to flip him over, the action taking him by surprised and he rolled onto his back. I straddled his hips, before leaning down to kiss him again.

He laughed at my bold move, his hands on my waist. “Having issues, love?”

I wiggled down his body, trailing the same mixture of kisses, sucks and licks that he had to me. “Not anymore.”

When I made my way to the band of his boxers, peaking slightly out from under his dark pants, I trailed my tongue down his V lines before sucking gently on his hip bones. I grazed a palm over the bulge in his pants, feeling his strain. This caused him to emit a rumble, his hands grabbing at my hair. His response gave me newfound confidence, and before I could lose my nerve, I slid down, taking his pants and boxers with me to strip him completely.

Throwing the items to the side, my eyes slid up his now naked body. I had once thought there was nothing more attractive than Niall in black pants and a white t-shirt. That was before now. My eyes lingered on his now exposed member, and I felt a flutter in my stomach. He was definitely bigger than the other guys I had been with, and I started to feel a little nervous. When I met his eyes though, my nerves faded. I slid up his body, stopping at his midsection. Licking my lips in preparation, I leaned down and took his tip in my mouth. He sucked in a deep breath between his teeth at the contact. Sliding my lips over him further, circling my tongue around his length. I flicked the tip of my tongue over the underside of his head, before sliding back slightly. His hands fisted my hair as I slid back down, taking him as far as I could.

“Jesus fuck, babe,” he gasped. “Don’t you have a fucking gag reflex?”

I could have laughed if my mouth hadnt been full. Instead I continued to move my mouth and tongue over him, noticing his breathing coming out in short gasps. I took more of him in, surprising even myself. Finally he hissed, his hands finding my shoulders.

“Okay, babe, you gotta stop.” He said breathlessly. “I don’t wanna cum yet.”

I gave him a few more swirls of my tongue before releasing him and trialing kissings up his toned abdomen, chest and finally his lips.

He met with me a crazed hunger, hands in my hair as he flipped me over onto my back.

He pulled back with an evil smile. “Payback time.”

He wasted no time pulling my shorts off and flinging them over his shoulder before crawling back up my body. He pressed his body against me, straddling my one leg to give his hand access to me as he kissed me. I could feel his hardness pressed into my hip as his hand trailed down my stomach in a feather light touch before pausing just above my center. He pulled his lips from mine to catch my gaze. He last time he touched me like this had been the cause of all the recent drama, and I could tell he was making sure before he went any further. I gave him a small nod.

His lips met mine against as his fingers slid across my middle. I sighed at the contact. His middle finger circled my clit several times, alternating between soft strokes and firm contact. The combination had my heady within seconds. After teasing me for a short time, he slid a finger into me, then quickly another. I gasped in response against his mouth, but he didn’t break the contact. His expert fingers tortured me from the inside, circling and curling against my g-spot just like he had in the car as his thumb made agonizing circles over my clit. I couldn’t catch my breath as I writhed under him. He pressed his body firmly into mine to hold me steady as I squirmed against him.

The torture was endless. Every movement brought me closer to the edge, but then he would slow, letting me fall back down. I was right. He was evil. A fucking evil little leprechaun sent to destroy me.

He stopped kissing me to pull back and look at me. My breathing was ragged, disorganized. I could feel my face flush, my eyes closing against the rhythm of his hand.

“Open your eyes.” He said, his voice husky. Fuck. His accent got even sexier when he was turned on.

I obeyed him, meeting his blue eyes with my green ones. He watched me as I came closer to my end, before suddenly stopping and pulling his hand from me. I couldn’t stop the whimper of disappointment that escaped me at the loss of contact.

He laughed. “Sorry baby, but as much as I love watching your face, I don’t think I can hold out much longer.”

I tried to control my breathing while he slid off the bed and grabbed his discarded pants. I heard him fumbling around in his wallet, before the sound of a package being opened snapped my eyes to him.

They found him just as he was rolling the condom over his length, before crawling back up my body in a painfully sexy slow motion. He slipped between my legs, parting them with his hips as he lowered towards me. He kissed me softly a few times, his fingers running over my cheeks and jaw. Finally he pulled back, looking at me.

“You’re sure?” he asked.

Was he fucking serious? I had just spent the last hour writhing against this beautiful boy anticipating this moment. I had never wanted anything more.

“Yes.” I answered, breathless.

His lips found mine, before slowly pushing past my entrance.

I hadnt had sex in quite a while, and like I said, Niall was bigger than my ex’s. My breath caught in my throat, my fingers digging into his shoulders. I whimpered against his mouth, as he slid in a little further, a groan passing his own lips. My breathing increased as I tried to relax around him, my eyes squeezing tightly shut. He continued to slide in painfully slowly, until he had entered me fully.

I felt like I was going to split at the seams. He didn’t move, just kissed me, waiting for me to adjust. His hand was on my waist, his thumb sliding back and forth against my skin to calm me. I had never felt so full in my life. My legs tangled with his as I tried to find a position that relieved a little bit of the pressure, but I quickly found that there wasn’t one.

Niall pulled back to look at me. “Okay?”

I nodded after a moment, my hands a little shaky.

He slowly pulled out, almost completely, his eyes still on mine, before sliding back in to the brim. The movement forced a moan from my lips, my eyes closing as the discomfort became incredibly welcome. I felt Nialls head dip down to my neck, his apparent favorite place to me, kissing me gently as he slid out again, then in in an agonizingly slow rhythm. My hands found his hips, fingers digging into the flesh of his bum as he pressed further into me. My breathing had become a disorganized mixture of sighs, moans and whimpers as he increased his pace. I bent one leg, placing my foot on the bed to lift my hips to meet his. This caused him to suck a deep breath between his teeth at the change in friction.

“Fuck, babe.”

We moved like this for what seemed like forever. At one point I wondered how long he could go, as I found myself completely breathless from the onslaught. His pace began to quicken, his hips curling into mine as I wrapped my other leg around his to curve my hip deeper to him. His hand reached down, grabbing my ass and pushing me into him further.

“Holy shit!” I screamed, unable to stop myself.

We were drenched in sweat, his hair falling across his forehead. I dug my nails into the flesh of his bum, causing him to lose his rhythm.

He sounded some profanity in my ear, faltering only for a moment, before slamming into me again.

I honestly didn’t know how much more I could take. The fluttering in the pit of my stomach rose, a warm heat sliding up my body as I approached my ending. Nialls pace became uneven, and I could tell he wasn’t far off.

I used the leverage of my foot on the bed to push him hips up and into him further, changing the friction. The second I did this, I exploded after only one thrust as he hit my clit and g-spot at the same time. I screamed his name, my nails digging into his hips. The wave of completion rose over me, and just when I thought it was ending, it came again. And again. I couldn’t breath, I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel every muscle in my body contract at the same time.

“Thats it, babe,” Niall said roughly in my ear. “God I love my name on your lips.”

I was trying to catch my breath as Niall continued to push into me faster and faster. I was certain I was going to split open, before finally he faltered, swearing like a trooper as he came. I felt his whole body tense as he quivered inside me.

He collapsed on me, both of us struggling to catch our breath. I couldn’t move anything but my one arm, the rest of me pinned under the weight of his body on mine. I reached up, and began stroking his hair as we came down from our high. We stayed like this for a while, before he pushed up on his elbows, and disengaged from me. It was slightly painful, and I gasped. He rolled off the bed and padded into the bathroom to dispose of the condom before coming back and climbing onto the bed with me. I hadnt even been able to move. Coming to lay beside me, he pulled the tangled sheet over us before pulling me to snuggle into his side.

We didn’t speak for a long while. I laid with my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat return to a normal pace, while his hand slid up and down my arm absentmindedly.

Finally be broke the silence. “Wow.” Was all he said.

I laughed. “Yeah.”

“No seriously,” he added quickly. “If I had known it would be like that I would have thrown you on the carpet and taken you the moment I saw you in LA.”

“If I had known it would be like that I would have let you.” I agreed.

He laughed my favorite laughed, kissing my head.

There was more silence, more contentment, before I broke it with a laugh.

“What?” he asked, straining his head to look down at me.

“Taylor said make up sex was the best kind.” I told him, running my fingers along his abs. “Figures our first time together would be make up sex.”

Niall burst out laughing. “Maybe I should piss you off more often.”

“Or not.” I said, swatting him.

I squealed as Niall flung me over onto my back, nestling himself between my legs with a grin.

“Im sure I can think of things to make you reconsider.” He said, running his tongue across my chest.

“You think so, eh, Horan?”

He looked up to wiggle his eyebrows at me.

“Ready for round two, babe?”


	19. Chapter 19

I woke the next morning squinting against the harsh light coming through the window of my hotel room. I threw my arm over my eyes, blocking out the offensive brightness. Taking a deep breath, I tried to go back to sleep. It wasn’t going to happen.

I rolled onto my side, tucking my hands under my head. My body was sore as if I had run a marathon. I ached, my muscles stretched, a discomfort that made me grin. I felt thoroughly worked over, which was a pretty accurate diagnosis.

I flipped over to my other side, finding Niall still asleep beside me. My grin grew wider as the memories of the night before came back like a tidal wave. We had spent the better part of the night wrapped around each other in some form. Talking about completely random things, which would somehow lead to kissing, touching, and eventually sex. We hadnt fallen asleep until the early hours of the morning.

He was laying on his stomach, his face half buried in the pillow as his arms crossed underneath. We was covered only slightly by the white linen sheets, his bare back exposed. I had to fight the urge to reach out and touch him. His breathing came in and out evenly, a drastic difference from the night befores activities.

I watched him for a short time, grinning at myself. A couple months ago I didn’t know who he was. A month ago I thought he was the cutest thing and enjoyed his company. A week ago I felt a mixture of nerves and excitement around him. Now, I wanted to stay in this bed with him forever.

I finally couldn’t resist, sliding closer to him to nuzzle his neck. I ran my fingers gently down his spine, kissing his shoulder. He drew in a long breath, signaling he was waking up. I kissed him again, before he rolled onto his back and wrapped his arms around me.

“You’re going to kill me, woman.” He mumbled groggily, his accent painfully sexy in his sleepy voice. “I need sleep. And food. And fluids.”

I giggled into his neck, inhaling the smell of him.

“Ugh,” was his response. “death by sex. That’s what it will say on my tombstone. The fans will be very mad at you.”

I laughed, pulling back to look down at him.

His eyes were heavily lidded, a sleepy grin on his face. His hair stuck in every direction. He had one hand on my arm, the other tracing up and down the bare skin of my back. We were both skill naked.

“I can stop of you want.” I said, pushing off him to climb out of bed.

I didn’t get very far before he pulled me back sharply, rolling over on top of me. “I didn’t say I wanted you to stop.” He kissed me deeply, the charge in the room rising the longer we kissed.

He felt like a drug to me. I honestly couldn’t get enough of him. I ran my hands over his bare back, feeling the muscles contract as he moved against me. His finger tips stroked the side of my face gently.

We were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Niall groaned into my mouth, but didn’t stop kissing me. After a moment, another knock sounded in the room.

I tried to speak between kisses. “I should,” he kissed me. “probably,” kiss, “answer that.”

“Mmmhmmm.” He mumbled against my lips.

Finally, I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back. He started to resist, but I finally pushed a little harder and he let me push him to the side to roll onto the bed.

“Remind me to kill whoever is at the door.” He said, flopping back onto the bed.

I slid off the bed, searching for something on the floor to cover my naked body. I finally decided on Nialls shirt. Slipping it on, it feel to the top of my thighs. It wasn’t much but at least I was covered.

“God you look sexy like that,” he said, watching me as I cross the room towards the door. He sat up to lean towards me. “Come back to bed and forget whoever is at the door.”

I gave him a look before pulling the door open and finding Harry on the other side. I half hid behind the door to cover my less than clothed self.

“Hey Harry,” I greeted shyly.

“Morning love.” He grinned cheekily down at me. “I just wanted to remind Niall that we leave in about an hour for that radio interview.”

I gave him a look. “What makes you think hes here?” I challenged.

Harry laughed. “Well, first, you’re wearing his shirt.” I looked down at myself then back to him. “Second, you have that ‘well fucked over’ look.” I felt myself blush as he continued. “And third, these walls are NOT soundproof.”

My mouth dropped open as Harry burst out laughing. I heard Nialls wailing laughter from back in my room as I hid my face in my hand.

“Oh God,” I said.

“Yeah, that sounds similar to what we heard last night.” Harry snickered. “Everyone within a three room radius knows you guys made up. Three times.”

“OH GOD!” I whined, desperate to escape into my room.

I felt Niall come up behind me, and I turned to find him in just his boxers, a pleased grin on his face. I wanted to smack him.

“Morning, mate,” Niall greeted Harry as he came up and put his arms around me.

“Mornin’.” Harry greeted, his eyes still on my embarrassed face. “We leave at eleven for the radio station, just so you know.”

“Right,” Niall agreed, and I could feel him smiling behind me. Ugh. I was mortified. He seemed incredibly pleased with himself.

“Okay,” I said, extracting myself from Nialls arms. “Im going to have a shower, you boys continue.”

“Hey, if you hurry, you can probably squeeze in a quickie before we gotta leave.” Harry called from the door as I made my way into the bathroom. I flipped him the finger as I closed the door, blocking out his and Nialls laughter.

In the privacy of the bathroom, I turned on the hot water of the shower before pulling Nialls t-shirt over my head. Looking at myself in the mirror, I grinned. My hair was a mess, and I realized Harry was right. I did have a ‘well fucked over’ look which was probably because I had been VERY well fucked over. I had a spot on my collar bone, and another on the opposite hip, from where Niall left his mark on my body. My lips were still slightly red and puffy. I felt like I was walking funny, my hips feeling unhinged.

Climbing into the hot shower, I sighed as the warm water fell over me in cascades. I just stood still, letting the heat do its job and sooth my aching body. I was just about to reach for the body wash when I heard the shower curtain move behind me. Spinning around, I watched as Niall climbed into the shower with me.

He wasted no time before coming up, pulling me into his now wet, naked body, kissing me deeply. His hands trailed down my back, resting on my lower spine where his pinky fingers traced little circles in my flesh. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, the water from the shower falling slightly over our faces.

Breaking the contact, I gave him a look. “You have to leave in less than an hour, you know.”

“I know,” he grinned, kissing me again. “I figured we could save time showering together.”

I laughed against his lips.

“Plus, there is always that quickie Harry mentioned.” He added.

“Please don’t be taking any sex advice from Harry,” I pleaded, moving to push him away.

He just pulled in closer, my resistance futile. “Oh Im not,” he assured me. “I just think the man had a brilliant idea.” 

 

We made it down to the lobby just in time. My hair was still wet, pulled back into a damp ponytail. I had pulled on a tshirt and jeans quickly, throwing random items into a large purse. I was pretty sure my socks didn’t even match.

After our ‘quickie’, Niall had to rush to his room to change. I heard a few hoots and hollers from the hall as he rushed down to his room, the others obviously knowing what had happened last night. The cat calls continued in the lobby as we emerged hand in hand to find the other four guys, and three members of security waiting for us. Sophia was there as well, sitting on Liam lap. She grinned at me knowingly as we approached.

“Have a good night, mate?” Liam asked Niall as we headed towards the cars to take us to the radio station.

“You could say that.” He answered, his eyes hidden behind his dark sunglasses.

“Or, at least Dylan could. I never thought I would meet anyone louder than you, Nialler, but I guess I was wrong.”

I glared at Liam, Sophia giving him a light punch in the arm as we climbed into the SUVs. Niall and I took our seats in the very back, his arm over me, the other holding my hand in his lap. The entire ride to the station was spent with him nuzzling into my neck, whispering to me, both sweet nothings and dirty promises he intended to fulfill.

I was expected to go to the radio station at the request of management. They wanted some images of the guys doing interviews, so I was to accompany them on a few of these pre-concert engagements.

It was a short drive, maybe fifteen minutes, before we pulled up in front of a large office building. There were a few fans out front, and while Sophia and I entered the building, the guys hung outside to sign autographs and take photos. Waiting inside the lobby, Sophia smiled at me.

“You and Niall are awfully cute together,” she said as we sat on a long bench waiting for the guys. “I don’t remember seeing him this happy before.”

Her comments made me blush. “I cant remember the last time I was this happy.” I said honestly.

“Hes a good guy.” She responded almost absentmindedly before the guys came in, and Liam and Niall collected us to go upstairs for the interview.

After checking in with reception, the guys were taken in to the booth to get ready for the interview. Niall didn’t let go of my hand until the very last moment. My role was explained to the two radio hosts, and I took a few shots before the interview began.

The interview went on like many others, the same questions, the same answers. The guys all talking at once, goofing off and being rowdy like they always were. Finally, the one interviewer brought their attention back after Louis had made some joke at Zayns expense.

“So, guys, you hear the screaming outside, yeah? The fans wanna know, who is single and who isn’t? Liam and Niall, you both came in today in the company of some very lovely ladies. Care to share?”

I was glad I had my camera to my eye at that moment, so my expression would be partially hidden from the interviewer. Although, having a heavy, expensive item in my hands to throw at him was probably a negative.

“We’re quite happy, yeah,” Liam said, his answer short and sweet. The interviewers weren’t satisfied.

“Go down the line…who is taken, who isn’t?” the second, female, host interrupted. “The fans wanna know.”

Pffft, sure, the FANS wanna know, I thought with a scowl. The way she was looking Louis over I could tell she wouldn’t mind knowing the answer either.

The guys exchanged a look before starting.

“Taken,” Zayn said shortly.

“Taken,” Liam added, giving Sophia a smile. She returned it, beaming.

“I think most people know Im taken,” Harry laughed, knowing his highly publicized affair with Taylor was well documented.

“Taken,” Louis said, raising his hand as if he was in a classroom. The female host couldn’t suppress her little frown.

Everyones eyes fell to Niall, who gave me a little grin. “Happily taken,” he said with a wink in my direction.

The little bugger.

“Aw, isn’t that sweet.” The male host chimed in. “You heard it here, folks. The 1D boys are happily in love. Sorry to disappoint you.”

I ignored the rest of the interview, joining Sophia in the room adjacent to the booth. We could see the antics through the glass, sometimes wondering what the hell the guys were doing as they bounced around like mimes.

Finally the interview was over, and they emerged. Coming up to me, Niall kissed me quickly before we were ushered to the elevator and back to the lobby. In the elevator, Niall leaned down to my ear.

“Is that okay, what I said in there?” he asked. His nervous tone caused me to look up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, when I said I was taken.” It looked so unsure it was almost comical. And completely adorable.

I laughed. “I guess its okay. I mean, I will have to let my other boyfriends know to lay low for awhile.”

He pinched my bum, biting his lip at me. “Don’t make me hurt you.” He teased, turning to press me into the wall of the elevator. He brought his lips to mine, kissing me. A subtle cough across the small space reminded us we weren’t alone.

“Keep it clean, kids,” Steve said as we approached the lobby. “At least wait until you aren’t in a tiny elevator with a bunch of your friends.”

Niall stepped away from me, taking my hand.

“Wheres the fun in that?”


	20. Chapter 20

The next few weeks were the best of my life. Not only did I have the best job EVER, but now I had somehow ended up with the best boyfriend ever. Snort. Boyfriend.

It was still weird to think of. I was actually dating Niall Horan. The thought still made me laugh sometimes. I told him that once, and he got annoyed. Of course, his version of annoyed was yelling something in Irish slang, then tackling me. More than once we had started wrestling around on the floor over something he had said or done, only to end up making out. Come to think of it, most things we did together ended up with us making out.

I had never dated anyone before where I just couldn’t keep my hands off them. And for some strange reason, he was the same with me. Whenever we were within a certain distance of each other, we had to be touching. And if we weren’t within that distance, we made sure to change that.

There were now countless pictures of us plastered all over the internet. This still made me a little uneasy. I was still determined to stay in the background, completely invisible. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible when around Niall. He attracted attention everywhere we went, and it wasn’t long before I was well known among the fans.

The majority were amazingly supportive. They figured as long as Niall was happy, then they were happy. Of course there were some who were CONVINCED they would marry him one day, so my presence in his life was an unwelcome speedbump to that goal. Taylor had warned me about that, so I was prepared. There had been the occasional comment, either online or yelled out as we entered a venue or hotel. My Twitter account all of a sudden had thousands of followers, everyone wanting my attention. I had to chance my privacy settings on my Facebook so that people couldn’t find me. My family had even been getting calls from papers and such, wanting to know what they thought of their relative involved with a boy bander. They avoided the topic, politely declining to comment on my love life, but I could tell it worried them that I was now so recognizable.

We tried to have a normal relationship, though. A few days after the radio interview, Niall took me on our first official date. We went to a restaurant while in Denmark, and although I had NO idea what Niall ordered me since I couldn’t read a word on the menu, the food was incredible. He talked, stealing touches under the table and kisses by candle light. A couple of fans came up and asked for his autograph, which he obliged. It was weird to me, to be out at dinner with someone and have strangers come up for their attention. I reminded myself that that was part of his life, therefore, mine now.

Niall still took me out playing tourist whenever we could. We always had to take security, which I felt bad for, but it was a requirement I understood. We wandered the European cities like any other couple, rarely interrupted. Niall took me any place I had ever mentioned I wanted to see. The Vatican and Coliseum in Rome, the streets of Zurich, and the coasts of Portugal. It was a nice, peaceful change from the frantic screaming and energy of our nights at concerts.

I had started to hear from a lot more friends I hadnt talked to in ages once the news of my new relationship went bicoastal. Suddenly people who I had lost touch with were all about getting reacquainted. I would return their emails or Facebook messages, but would never answer any questions about my relationship when they prodded. It was none of their business, as far as I was concerned.

As the European leg of the tour ended, the guys were in line for a nice two week long break before we headed off to North America. The closer we got to this little vacation of sorts, the more hyper the guys became. They hadnt seen their families in weeks, and the excitement was evident.

I had never met a guy who loved to cuddle as much as Niall. It didn’t even matter if his friends were in the room, he wouldn’t let me go. In past relationships, I found that as soon as the guy was around his friends, he had to act tough. Like snuggling his girlfriend was too sissy for him. Niall couldn’t have been more opposite. If anything, the more people who were in the room, the more affectionate he was.

A few days before the final European show in Madrid, Niall and I were laying on his hotel room bed watching a movie. It was late at night, the room dark except for the light from the TV and the lamp in the corner. We hadnt talked much since putting the movie on, when he turned to me.

“So what are your plans for our couple weeks off?” he asked, tucking my hair behind my ear.

I kept my eyes on the screen, watching as Jack Nicholson stalked through the old hotel looking for his family with the intent of chopping them into little pieces.

“I figured I would just go home to LA. See some friends and whatever. Maybe go home and see my family.”

He was quiet for a while, before he spoke again.

“Would you fancy coming home with me for a bit?” His nervous tone forced my eyes from the TV to look at him.

He watched me intently, his face expressionless. His thumb stroked back and forth across my arm as his had his slung over my shoulders and I leaned into him.

“Like, to Ireland?” I said, realizing when it came out of my mouth how stupid I sounded.

He smiled. “Yeah, like, to Ireland.”

I wanted to pinch him for mocking me, but I was suddenly a little nervous. Was he asking me to meet his family?

“I want you to meet my family.” He said, filling in my racing thoughts.

I swallowed audibly.

“Me mom has been asking about you. Shes been bugging me quite a bit, actually. And my brother and sister in law had a baby n all, so I just thought, maybe, it would be nice.” He was rambling, and it was the cutest thing.

I couldn’t stop the smile from coming to my face. “You sure?”

He laughed at me. “Yes, Im sure.”

“Okay, then.”

He beamed down at me, kissing me, before turning back to the movie. 

 

My leg bounced uncontrollably the entire flight. By the time our plane began to descend, Niall had a firm grip on my knee.

“If you don’t stop bouncing, Im going to tie you up!” he threatened. Pausing a moment, he brought a finger to his lips. “Actually, I rather fancy that idea. Bounce away, babe.”

I normally would have laughed at his little sexual innuendo, but I was too nervous. I was about to meet his family. Ugh. What if they hated me? What if they thought I was hideous and rude? What if they thought I was only dating him for all the craziness around him?

My leg bounced harder.

We had left the rest of the group in Madrid early that morning as we all departed for our various homelands. There were hugs, well wishes, and a few tears as we all dispersed in the airport to catch our flights. Hugging Harry goodbye, he kissed my cheek. “Don’t worry, love,” he said, pulling back. “His family will love you.”

I laughed nervously at him, before smacking his ass as he turned to walk away. This had become our traditional greeting and goodbye for the last few weeks between each other. Neither of us could remember how it had started, but it worked for us. Niall didn’t like the idea much, giving Harry dirty looks whenever his hand would graze my bum, and almost spontaneously combusting if I came too close to Harrys backside. This only egged us on, trying to get a rise out of him. It usually worked.

We had a short wait in the airport before our flight left. I spent most of the time staring out the window as the planes came and went along the runway and surrounding area. Niall was texting on his phone, biting his lip in concentration.

“Who are you talking to?” I finally asked, almost laughing at his scrunched up face.

He peered up at me from under his baseball cap. “A beautiful girl.” He smirked.

I rolled my eyes at him, before turning my attention back to the window. “Are you texting your mom again?”

He laughed. “Actually no, but she will be delighted you thought so.”

Niall fell asleep quickly on the plane, taking advantage of the short trip to catch up on sleep. I, however, was too nervous. Which brought us to the current leg bouncing drama.

As the plane landed, taxiing across the tarmac to the gate, my stomach was flipping. Niall took my hand, kissing the inside of my palm. “Relax, love. They don’t bite. I however….” He wigged his eyebrows at me.

I shook my head at him, rolling my eyes.

When the plane was finally settled, and the light switched off, Niall stood and collected our bags from the overhead bin. Taking my hand, we disembarked the plane, went through Irish customs, gathered our bags, and headed for the exits in a much shorter time than I was ready for.

Niall hand my hand tightly, pulling me along as we reached the area where family members meet. We were surrounded my people hugging, kissing, laughing, and greeting each other. I was busy watching a little girl rushing towards her father in excitement when I heard Niall yell.

“Oi!” he shouted across the busy space. I looked up to find him smiling at a tall, dark hair guy. Niall let go of my hand, dropping his bag, and rushing a few steps ahead to jump on the stranger. The two started tackling each other in a rather embarrassing display. I stood a few steps back, my bag in hand, watching them.

After a few minutes of horseplay and more than a few insults, they straightened, giving each other slaps on the back.

“Good to see you little bro,” the dark hair man said, turning to look at me.

“I would think so,” Niall replied, before follow the mans gaze to me. He held his hand out to me, indicated I should join him. I stepped up, taking his hand. “Greg, this is Dylan. Babe, this is my ugly older brother.”

I shot him a look, before turning back to Greg and extending my free hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too, love,” he answered, taking my hand in his. “And may I say, you are way too pretty to be with this wanker.” He motioned towards Niall with his final word, jerking his head in his direction.

Niall punched his brother in the arm, before reaching down to take my bag from me and collect his own. We followed Greg out to the waiting car, Niall throwing our bags in the back while I climbed in the back seat. Niall slid into the passenger side, his brother behind the wheel.

The two chattered endlessly as we drove away from the airport and through the Irish countryside towards Mullinger. The green hills and stone buildings were exactly what I expected, and I almost laughed. It was really beautiful.

“So, Dylan,” Greg called, catching my gaze in the rearview mirror. “Niall tells me you’re a photographer.”

“Amateur,” I corrected quickly, “but yeah, I dabble.”

Niall snorted. “Shes brilliant.” He turned to give me a look. “Seriously, babe, quit acting like you aren’t amazing.”

Greg ignored Niall to look at me again. “You think you could do some pictures of the wife and I with the baby? Denise has been wanting to get some portraits done since Theo came, but we just haven’t found the chance.”

My eyes widened slightly. “Um, sure, if you want.”

“Brilliant. Denise will be thrilled.”

Niall reached back to squeeze my knee, smirking at me. I swatted his hand away, earning me a sexy glare. My stomach tightened, my thoughts turning dirty. Damn it. Im about to meet his mother! Think non-sexy thoughts, dammit!

After a short time, Greg pulled the car up the drive of a modest house flanked my green fields. It was a dark brick two story, the drive flanked with tall trees. I had been so absorbed in the scenery I had forgotten to be nervous. Now my nerve returned with a vengeance.

Once the car was parked, Niall hopped out of the car while Greg retrieved our bags from the bag. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves. Niall seemed to notice my hesitation, opening the door for me and poking his head in the car. “Com’on, babe.” He laughed, reaching in to pull me out by the hand.

I slipped from the back seat as he shut the door before leaned me back against the side of the car. Greg started towards the front door, our bags in his hands, as Niall took my hands, pulling them behind me as he wrapped his arms around my middle. Pressing himself against me, he leaned his forehead to mine.

“Relax. Breathe.” He smiled. “They’re going to love you.”

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Opening them again, I met his lips quickly. “Okay, lets go.”


	21. Chapter 21

Niall led my by the hand towards the front door. Holding it open for me, he guided me through and into the foyer. Greg had deposited our bags to the side against one wall, and disappeared somewhere into the house. I could hear loud voices coming from somewhere down the hall in front of us. Removing my shoes, I looked around. Directly inside the door was a long wooden staircase leading to the upstairs. Beside it was a hall that led to what I thought was the kitchen. To my left was a living room, with plush couches, a large TV, and family photos over every surface. Kicking off his shoes, Niall took me down the hall towards the voices, squeezing my hand gently in an attempt to calm my nerves.

We entered a modest kitchen, with dark wood cupboards and an island in the middle. Greg was leaning on the island, sipping a drink, flanked by a tall, lovely blonde woman who I took to be Denise, and a shorter, sweet faced lady with shoulder length light hair. I assumed her to be Nialls mother.

She crossed around the island, her hands out to cup Nialls face and kiss his cheek before hugging him tightly. “Aw, my boy,” she said in a sing song voice. “so good to finally see you, yeah?”

“’allo, mum.” He said squeezing her tightly. “You good, yeah?”

“Aye.”

Tapping his cheek gently, she turned to me. I hand my hands folded in front of me, looking at her nervously. I smiled at her, trying to hide my fear. She was a tiny woman, and I found it funny that someone so small could scare me so much.

“You must be Dylan,” she said, coming over to me and embracing me warmly. She hugged me tight, as if she had known me for years. I returned her gesture, noticed Niall smiling at us. Pulling back, his mom touched my face.

“Ah, a pretty thing, isn’t she?” She said, turning to Niall. He just smiled proudly, as if he had made me with a chemistry set. She turned back to me, still smiling. “You have a nice flight, love?”

“Very nice, thank you Mrs Horan.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, call me Maura. Mrs Horan makes me feel old.”

“That’s cause yeh are!” shouted a stout man as he entered the kitchen. Walking up to Niall, he gave me a hug, clapping him on the back. Pulling back, Niall introduced the man as his step father, Chris.

I went to shake Chris’ hand, but he pulled me into a fatherly hug instead, causing me to laugh. His whole family was so comfortable, warm and welcoming, my nerves faded quickly.

I was introduced to Gregs wife, Denise, before Maura suggested we go into the living room. We spent the next two hours chatting. They asked Niall how the tour was going, how he was, if he was ‘behaving’. They asked me a million questions about my family, growing up, university, work, photography. Everything. If they hadnt been so nice I would have felt like it was the Spanish inquisition. Niall kept urging me to tell them funny ER stories, some of which caused his mother to cover her mouth with her hand and shout “No they didn’t! People don’t really put those there, do they?”

Greg turned to Denise, informing her that I had agreed to take photos of them during my visit.

“Oh that’s lovely!” she said, sincerely. “Ive so been wanting to take pictures, especially while Theo is so small, but we’ve just been so busy.”

As if on cue, a tiny wailing echoed through the room from the baby monitor on the table.

“Speak of the devil,” Denise said, leaning forward to stand.

“I’ll get him,” Niall exclaimed, practically jumping up from the couch and darting up the stairs. A moment later we could hear his voice over the monitor, talking to the baby.

“Whats this racket, you.” He scolded the baby. “You think just cause you’re the cutest Horan you can make a fuss?” We heard shuffling, a few scuffles, before Niall groaned. “Oi, what the fuck. How does a baby shit this much?”

“Niall!” his mother shouted up the stairs. “Watch your language!”

He returned a short time later, a tiny, squirming little potato in his arms. He came back to sit beside me, cradling the baby in his arms. He was a tiny little thing, pink and squidgy, with a faint sprinkling of dark hair. His little arms flailed occasionally as he stuck out his tiny tongue. Niall made faces at him, stroking his miniature nose with a finger.

Watching Niall with the baby almost made my ovaries explode. It was honestly without a doubt the cutest thing I had ever seen. He gazed at the newborn with such a fascination, his arms supporting the tiny person completely.

“He had made quite a deposit in his diaper, mate,” Niall said to his brother, his eyes not leaving the baby. “I almost had to call in reinforcements.”

“Better you than me,” Greg responded, sipping his beer.

The chattered continued around us as Niall playing with the baby, me watching him. The faces he was making at the tiny person were hilarious. What was funnier was that Theo honestly didn’t seem to care. He just looked at Niall as if so say, “You don’t have boobs! Feed me dammit!”

Niall looked over to me, smiling like a fool. “You wanna hold him?” he asked, shifting his weight to turn towards me.

I guess my eyes widened a little, because Niall laughed. “He wont break.” He assured me, passing me the baby bundled in a blanket.

I accepted him awkwardly, my posture stiff as a board and my hold tense. The baby squirmed, sensing my fear. Something like a bear, or a lion. Babies could smell fear, I was certain. I hadnt had much experience with babies, usually calling ‘not it’ when they came into the ER. I loved to watch them from a safe distance, amused by their smallness. But as I knew it was only a matter of time before they expelled some sort of goo, I usually kept a safe distance.

I leaned back against the couch, adjusting my posture to better support the tiny little person in my arms. Theo gazed up at me, his tiny tongue making little bubble noises. Everything on him was so small. His little nose, ears, fingers. I reached a hand around to take his hand, and he wrapped his tiny fingers around my index. That was all it took, and he had me hooked.

I held him for quite a while, watching him as he fell back asleep. His tiny chest breathing quickly, the occasional squirm or twitch startling me. I caught Niall watching me with the most unreadable expression his face. He slid closer to me, curving around my hip as he slung an arm over the back of the couch to look down at the baby in my arms. He reached over and stroked the babys cheek, seeming to just want to touch the soft skin.

I heard the click of a camera, and looked up to see that Nialls mother had taken a picture of us with her phone. “Ah, that is a sight.” She cooed, smiling at the screen.

A short time later, Theo awoke again, his wails clearly indicating that he was hungry. Denise excused herself, plucking the infant from my arms and taking him back upstairs to feed him.

“Well, shall we have some dinner?” Chris said, rubbing his hands together. “Anyone fancy anything in particular?”

“I would love to go to Danny Fitz’s.” Niall said, eager now that the topic of food had been raised. “I need some real Irish fare.”

Everyone seemed in agreement, and decided to clean up before heading into town for dinner. Niall picked up our bags from the front door, heading up the stairs. I followed behind him, his mother at my back.

He turned at the top of the stairs, entering the first room on the right and tossing the bags onto the bed. I followed him, taking in the large bed, the light blue walls, and the random photos of a younger Niall. I turned to him, unsure. “Are we both sleeping in here?”

I heard his mother laugh. “Ah, love, Im not so old fashioned to not know what goes on out on the road. If you’ve shared a bed there, no point in stopping now.”

I could feel my cheeks flush at her words, my eyes falling to the floor with embarrassment. She gave me a pat on the cheek before departing to change for dinner, closing the door behind her. I turned back to Niall, slightly embarrassed.

“God, even your mother knows we’re having sex,” I said as I unzipped my bag and rummaged for a change of clothes.

“Well, you are loud, babe.” Niall said, pulling off his shirt.

I glared at him, throwing the item that was in my hands at his face. He caught it easily, opening it up to reveal the black lace lingerie I had bought with Taylor back in London. His eyes widened.

“Now if you wore this to dinner, I can GUARENTEE I wont be able to keep my hands off you. In front of my mother or not!”

I snatched it away from him, shoving it to the bottom of my bag as I pulled out a white button up shirt. I changed my top quickly, leaving on my jeans. Niall pulled on a long sleeved blue shirt over his khaki pants, and we headed downstairs to meet the rest of his family.

We had dinner at a local pub that had the best food I had ever eaten. Many of the items were listed in Gaelic or Irish slang, so I just told Niall to order me something chicken. I have no idea what it was, but it was amazing. The pints were flowing, the patrons in the pub rowdy and boisterous. Niall looked at ease, laughing with his family, cooing over Theo, and enjoying the familiar atmosphere. We didn’t leave until almost ten that evening, finally getting home feeling exhausted.

“Well, I think its bedtime.” Niall said, stretching his arms over his head as we piled in the door of his mothers house. He leaned down to kiss his mothers cheek, before bending down to poke at Theo in his car seat. “Night little man.”

I waved goodnight to his family as Niall took me by the hand and led me up the stairs and into our room. Once the door was closed securely behind us, he rounded on me.

He grabbed my shoulders, pressing me up against the door, his lips devouring mine. His urgency took me by surprise, and it took me a moment to return the kiss. His hands wound in my hair, his tongue mingling with mine. He pressed his hips into me, groaning slightly. I could already feel his bulge rising. After a moment, he pulled back, leaning his forehead against mine. His breath was warm on my face, his eyes glaring into mine.

“Easy, baby,” I said, laughing at him. “Don’t start something we cant finish.”

Niall drew his eyebrows together. “Who says we cant finish?”

I looked at him sternly. “We are NOT having sex in your mothers house!”

“Why not? You heard her. She knows we are sleeping together.” He leaned down to kiss me gently, pulling my bottom lip into his mouth. “Besides, I cant help myself.”

I placed my hands on his shoulders, pushing him back gently. “Well, you’re going to have to.” When he wouldn’t move more than an inch or two, I ducked around him to escape at his side. I had almost made it when he grabbed my hand, pulling me back towards him. He ducked down, scooping me up over his shoulder. I squealed, immediately covering my mouth with my hand to silence myself. God, I didn’t need his mother hearing this.

“Niall!” I whispered loudly. “Put me down!”

“As you wish,” he replied sweetly as he dumped me onto my back on the bed. Before I had the chance to sit up, he was crawling up my body, pressing his weight into me. His head immediately dipped down to my neck, savoring the area he knew would have me putty in his hands.

I gasped as he gave the skin a light suck. “Niall,” I breathed. “Stop.” My hands were on his shoulders with the intention of pushing him back, but for some reason they had lost all their motivation. I think it had something to do with the evil little leprechaun branding my neck with his lips.

His head slid across my chest, leaving a trail of kisses, before nuzzling the other side of my neck. His hair tickled my face, and I giggled. His slid a hand up under my top, his fingers teasing the skin under my breast. “You really want me to stop?”

I sighed loudly. “Yes?” Damn it. That sounded more like a question than an answer.

I felt him chuckle against my skin, before he came back up to my lips. Kissing me deeply, forcing his hips to grind into mine, he reached up to stroke my breast over my lace bra. “If you want me to stop, just say so.”

My eyes had closed on their own accord, my breathing escalating with every touch. I meant to tell him to stop. Honestly. But for some reason the words wouldn’t form.

“Hmmm?” he teased, his fingers finding the buttons on my shirt. I opened my eyes, his gaze holding mine as he worked at the buttons, one by one, until my shirt fell open to the sides, exposing me. I was glad I was wearing a cute bra that day.

Nialls head dipped down to the valley between my breasts, his tongue leaving a wet line that cooled in the air of the room. His mouth moved over my nipple, teasing me through the fabric, before moving over to the other, while his hand reached down to the button of my jeans. My hands found his hair, pulling slightly as a groan left my lips.

Popping the button on my jeans, he eased the zipper down slowly, before coming up to kiss me quickly on the lips. He sat up, pulling me with him, to slide my shirt over my shoulders, tossing it to the side. He made quick work of my bra, throwing it over his shoulder with a wink before pressing me back down into the bed.

I knew I shouldn’t be letting him effect me like this, especially in his mothers house! It was so wrong! But so fucking hot I couldn’t have stopped him if I wanted to. And at that moment the last thing I wanted to do was stop him.

I grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it swiftly over his head. I reached down, popping the button on his khakis as I slid them over his hips as far as I could reach. He eased off the bed, sliding his pants the rest of the way off, before reaching up and pulling mine down over my legs along with my underwear. I laid on the bed, panting, waiting for him to crawl back up to me.

Instead, he grabbed my ankles, pulling me further down the bed towards him. I shrieked, sliding down to meet him with a sexy grin. I moved to sit up, reaching for his boxers, noticing the strain underneath, when his hand pressed my shoulders back to the mattress.

“No, babe,” I said, staring down at me, his voice deeper. “You’re going to lay there like a good girl. And you’re going to be quiet. Like you said, this is my mothers house. We wouldn’t want her hearing anything that would scar her for life would we?”

I looked at him, my body shaking with anticipation. “What?”

“Im going to have my way with you, and you cant say a word.” The grin on his face was pure evil. “Not a sound, yeah? Or I will stop.”

My eyes widened at his threat. “Are you kidding?”

“Do I look like Im kidding?” he grinned.

I just stared at him, trying to judge if he was serious. He grabbed my ankles again, sliding me down further in the bed until my bum was near the edge. When he was satisfied, he got onto his knees at the foot of the bed, grasping my legs to spread them apart.

“Niall!” I whispered loudly, trying to push my legs back together.

He pulled them pack apart forcefully. “Shh.” He scolded, reaching up and pushing me back down so I was laying flat on the bed. “Not a word!”

I laid there, staring at the white ceiling, feeling nervous, and excited and exposed. I rarely let Niall go down on me, which annoyed him. He said he loved watching me writhe, and that it was his duty as my boyfriend to give me a complete experience. I had always been uncomfortable with it, always feeling a little too….on display. Niall obviously didn’t give a shit tonight, determined to ‘have his way’.

I felt his hands running up the inside of my thighs, and my breathing hitched as the simple touch. His hands slid around the base of my legs, skimming the small area of my bum that was available to him, before reaching around to firmly hold my hips. He tucked himself under my legs, before bringing a hand back to my middle. He slid a finger across my center, teasing me. I shifted on the bed, his hand squeezing my hip. He continued to torture me, his finger circling my clit a few times alternating between soft touches and firm pressure, before quickly slipping a finger deep inside me. I couldn’t stop the loud gasp that escaped my lips. Immediately, his hand stilled.

“Remember what I told you,” he said, his voice warning. “Not a sound.”

UGH! He was killing me. That was it. I was dead.

His finger moved, finding a mixture of circles and curls, before he slid a second finger inside. I tightened around his fingers involuntarily, and heard his intake of breath. He quickly withdrew his hand, and I lifted my head to look at him. I met his eyes as he lowered to replace his hand with his mouth. I quickly threw my head back down to the bed, embarrassed. Ugh. Why did he have to be so good at this?

His warm tongue slid across my center, a soft moan leaving my mouth. He didn’t stop, and I assumed I had been quiet enough to satisfy him. His tongue flicked across my clit a few times, before his lips enclosed it and he sucked. Hard. I damn near flew up the bed, but his hands found my hips quickly, pressing them firmly into the mattress. He didn’t stop the torture to scold me. He just flicked his tongue a few more times before sucking again. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from screaming. He continued this torture, mixing in sliding his tongue inside me along with everything he knew would have me falling apart around him. My breathing was uncontrollable, my hands fisting in the sheets of the bed as I writhed under him. He slid his hands up my body, digging his fingers into my abdomen before wrapping them around my hips again.

I couldn’t take much more, and he knew it. I was having a harder time controlling my noises. And I was pretty sure my lip was bleeding. Niall gave a hard suck, and I moaned loudly, unable to stop myself. He removed his mouth from me immediately, causing me to whimper in a combination of relief and disappointment.

“Now, babe, that wasn’t very quiet, was it?” he teased, grinning proudly as I squirmed under his touch. “What am I going to do with you now?”

I huffed loudly in frustration. I didn’t dare respond incase he held true to his word and stopped completely. I was so tempted to throw myself off the bed and take him on the floor. Fuck being quiet!

Thankfully, I think Niall couldn’t hold out any longer either. He stood from his position at the foot of the bed, sliding his boxers off and kicking them aside. I wiggled quickly up the bed, eager to feel him. He grinned at me, before dipping his head and kissing his way up my body from my ankle all the way to my lips. The moment he pressed his weight into my, I grabbed handfuls of his blonde hair, pulling his bottom lip into my mouth. I pressed my hips up into him, desperate for some friction. He laughed into my mouth.

“Horny are we love?” he teased.

“Just shut up and fuck me already, Horan.”

“Language!” he laughed. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“No, I kiss you!” I replied, leaning up to kiss him.

“Right, okay then. Shall we crack on?” I giggled at his British slang, wrapping my legs around his waist and tilting my hips up into him.

I had gone back on birth control several weeks before, since Niall had joked that we were keeping the condom companies in business with how much sex we had. Plus, since we had a tendency to sometimes find ourselves in compromising positions without planning ahead, going on the pill just made the most sense.

I could feel him at my entrance, and I pressed my hips down to meet him. He pulled back slightly, teasing me. “I didn’t say you could have control, love.” He whispered, grabbing my wrists and pinning me down. “And I still expect you to stay quiet.”

I gave me a ‘yeah right’ look, just as he slid into me. I gasped at the pressure, my breathing hitching as I stretched around him. He wasted no time finding an agonizingly pleasurable rhythm, circling his hips into mine at just the right speed. I tried to concentrate on being quiet, but it was so fucking hard. Occasionally a moan would leave me, and Niall would stop dead. He would give me a look, raising an eyebrow, reminding me he meant business. It was so fucking hot. I finally buried my face in his neck to help silence myself as he continued to pound into me.

I learned early that the boy had no limit to stamina. He could go like the energizer bunny, never ending. We I pressed my feet into the mattress, raising my hips into him to change the friction.

“FUCK!” he yelled, unable to stop himself. I released my hips down, giving him a look.

“If I cant make noise, neither can you!” I panted.

He narrowed his eyes at me, before slamming into me again as if to make a point, forcing a gasp from me. He seemed to take my threat as a challenge. He reached up, gripping the headboard for leverage, and pressed deeply into my while arching his hips.

“ACK!”

He was determined to win. Ugh. Evil evil little man!

I reached down, gripping his hips tightly, my fingers digging into the flesh of his bum. Pressing my feet into the mattress again, I lifted my hips to him.

“Jesus fuck,” he moaned, before biting his lip to quiet himself.

We writhed into each other, each of us trying to force a scream, moan or cry from the other. The harder we tried to quiet ourselves, the more passionate we became.

I was sure I was leaving nail marks on his bum, but he didn’t seem to care. He just gripped the headboard tighter, his grunts and groans becoming louder. Finally we both just gave up and melted into each other, panting.

I felt the heat rising in my core, my walls tightening.

“Fuck, Niall!” I called, trying to stay quiet.

“Say my name, baby,” he breathed into my neck. “I want to hear my name on your lips.”

Just then he shifted, grinding into me and forcing my climax. I whimpered and writhed under him and he continued his onslaught through my orgasm as he reached his own. His pace faltered, his body tensing as a stream of profanities spilled from him. The sensation of his undoing caused another wave of heat to boil up in me, and a second orgasm ripped through my body immediately following the first.

“NIALL!”

“FUCK! Baby!”

I took a long while for us both to come down from the incredible high. Eventually, and a little painfully, Niall withdrew from me, rolling over onto the bed breathlessly. We lay side my side, both staring at the ceiling, as we calmed our breath and hearts. Finally, Niall leaned up and over me to kiss my stomach.

“So much for being quiet, eh, babe?” he teased, his finger circling my navel.

“You’re one to talk, Horan.” I scolded, running my fingers through his messy hair.

“Lets hope my mom is sleeping with her sound machine on, or I might have to be extra charming in the morning to keep her from giving me a lecture about torturing beautiful women in my bedroom.”

I snorted. “You’re not that charming.” I teased.

His eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Excuse me? I charmed the pants off you. Frequently”

I smacked his shoulder, as he wiggled up and under the covers and reaching over to turn off the light. Pulling them over my body, I snuggled into his arms and listened to the sound of his breathing as he fell asleep quickly.

Laying in the circle of his arms, contented from my high, I began to realize a frightening thought. I leaned up slightly, looking at his peaceful face illuminated by the moonlight coming in through the window across the room. His lips were parted slightly, his breathing even. He looked beautiful.

Laying my head back on his chest, he mumbled and he turned and leaned into me.

My heart tightened as the thought hit me again.

I was completely, hopelessly, terrifyingly in love with him.

Fuck.


	22. Chapter 22

I woke the next morning to the feeling if NIalls lips on my shoulder. His arm was across my middle, pulling him against him as the late morning sun filtered in through the window. His hair tickled my face, and I mumbled as I turned my face deeper into the pillow to escape the feeling.

He chuckled against my skin.

“Time to wake up, love,” he whispered in my ear.

“No,” I protested sleepily. Again, he laughed.

“Come on. If we stay in bed much later my mum will come knocking.”

I grumbled, rolling onto my back to look up at him. He looked adorable in the morning. All sleepy faced and messy haired. It was an unfair twist of fate what he should look so good, whereas I knew I probably looked like a rumpled dish cloth.

Niall gave me a quick kiss on the lips before laying down at my side facing me. Tucking his hands under his head, we watched each other for a short time. I rolled onto my side to match him, so we were now face to face. I adjusted my twisted pajama pants, which I had thrown on in the middle of the night, along with a tank top, on my way to the loo. I didn’t like the idea of sleeping naked in his mothers house. Of course, we had just had sex in his mothers house, so the rules I usually stood by were scattered at best.

His face had that unreadable expression, the one I had been catching on him more lately. It was a mixture of nerves, uncertainty and contentment. The thought that had struck me the night before was still fresh in my mind. And I felt it even stronger now. I was in love with him. Completely, hopelessly. I had taken a chance when I accepted this job, and honestly thought that would have been the biggest leap of faith the experience would allot me. Apparently I was really fucking wrong.

Now I had to decide if I was willing to take the chance and let myself fully fall for this beautiful boy. I knew it had already happened, but part of me was still fighting it, trying to convince myself I could stop if I had to. That if he didn’t feel the same, I would survive. Pfft. God I was an idiot.

“Whatcha thinkin’?” I asked, tapping his forehead with my index finger.

“Nothing” he lied, his eyes down. My stomach did an involuntary clench. Boys were always lying when they said they weren’t thinking of anything. No ones mind was ever completely blank. But I let it go.

A soft cry sounded from somewhere in the house, signaling Theo was awake and wanting attention. Niall smiled. He reached his hand across the small space between us, running his finger tips across the exposed area of my abdomen where my tank top had ridden up.

“You have no idea how sexy you looked holding Theo yesterday.” He said, his eyes on mine.

I snorted. “I think the word youre looking for is terrified, dear.”

“No, I mean sexy.” He corrected, his fingers continuing their little wander across my skin. “You looked so good with him.”

“Aw, baby, is your biological clock ticking?” I teased.

He snorted. “Not for a while yet, babe.” He pounced on me, rolling me back onto the bed. “But I do rather enjoy the practicing.”

I laughed, pushing at his shoulders as he nuzzled into my neck.

A knock at the door interrupted our interlude.

“Niall?” his mothers soft voice called from the hall.

“Yeah, mum.”

“You guys coming down for breakfast?”

“Yeah, we’ll be down in a minute.”

We heard her soft footsteps retreat down the hall, and burst out laughing.

“I told you she would come knocking!” he warned, kissing me quickly on the forehead before sliding out of bed. He had pulled on his boxers some time during the night, and stood to stretch his arms over his head before leaving the room in search of the bathroom. I scooted to the side of the bed, rolling my neck to loosen the muscles when Nialls phone buzzed on the nightstand beside me.

I dont usually look at his phone. But the name on the screen caught my eye.

Taylor: just tell her. She needs to know. She will figure it out eventually.

I stared at the screen, my hand reaching out to pick up the small black rectangle. I looked at the message, until the screen went black, the phone going back into sleep mode. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to unlock his phone and look at the message again, scrolling up to find the rest of the conversation. I felt nervous, scared and uncertain.

What did he need to tell me? What was he keeping from me? Obviously it was something he had been discussing with Taylor, which also meant she had been keeping something from me as well. I felt angry with her. We never kept anything from each other. And if it was something important, something that Niall for some reason was scared to tell me, all the more reason to give me a heads up, I thought.

Just then Niall returned, and I quickly placed his phone in the table before he would catch me. He rummaged in his bag, pulling out a t-shirt and sweat pants before turning to me.

“Com’on, babe. As much as you look sexy in your little sleep stuff, I don’t want my family ogling you.”

I rolled my eyes, before exiting to the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, all the while thinking about the message I had seen on his phone. I considered texting Taylor myself and confronting her. But I thought the better of it. Then she would know I saw the message, and may tell Niall. Ugh.

I came back into the room, pulling on a sweatshirt before following him down for breakfast in silence. 

 

The warm breeze of the Irish air blew my hair across my face as Niall and I walked hand in hand through the streets. My boots clicked on the pavement, my eyes shielded from the light by my sunglasses.

After a slightly awkward breakfast with his family, who had obviously heard our antics the night before, Niall suggested we take a walk around town. I showered quickly, pulling on jeans and gray tank top, sliding my feet into the tall brown boots I knew Niall liked. I felt anxious, my mind spinning over what he could be holding back. This in turn had made me want to please him, make myself more appealing incase whatever it was that he was keeping was negative. I dabbed on a little makeup, using mascara to fringe my eyelashes into long waves above my eyes. A little lip gloss made my lips look fuller. It was subtle, but considering my face was usually bare, it was still noticeable. Niall hadnt said anything, but his eyes lingered on my face a little longer than usual when I had returned from the bathroom to dress. He had noticed.

We now wandered the streets, Niall pointing out various places familiar to him. His eyes were widen behind his sunglasses, and I often found myself wanting to pull them from him, hoping to find answers in his eyes. I didn’t, but the urge was there. Occasionally he would become quiet, pensive, and it made me nervous. Niall was rarely ever quiet, which meant that whatever he and Taylor had been discussing was bothering him as much as it was now bothering me.

Part of me was angry. I wanted to turn on him, shake him and force him to tell me what the fuck was going on. But the more dominant, nervous side of me kept me quiet, walking silently beside him as we strolled through the town where he was raised.

We approached a large clearing, and I took it to be a soccer pitch. There was a stone wall along one side, adjacent to a low row of bleachers. The field was empty, the space making us feel as if we were far from the sounds and bustle of town. I hopped up on the wall, crossing my ankles. Niall came and stood in front of me, the height of the wall bringing me only inches shorter than where he stood. He put his hands on my shoulders, his thumbs skimming the skin as the breeze whisked my hair across my face. Niall reached up to cut it behind my ear, still silent. I placed my hands on his hips, slipping my fingers in the belt loops of his jeans. We watched each other for a while, our expressions hidden behind our respective sunglasses.

He was noticeably nervous for some reason. He would occasionally look up and around, as if waiting to see if someone was coming, or something would interrupt us. I was growing more scared the longer we sat in silence, but kept myself quiet. After a short time, Niall pressed himself between my knees to stand between my legs as I sat on the wall. He seemed to want to get as close as the setting would allow. I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Good because I loved being close to him, but bad because then I couldn’t get away if whatever he was going to say was unpleasant.

Niall sighed loudly, leaning his head down to rest his forehead on mine. He brought his hands to either side of my face. My fingers tightened in his belt loops, the urge to hold him, to keep him from running away suddenly incredibly strong.

I surprised myself when I found my voice. “You okay?”

He just nodded against my forehead silently. I could feel his eyes on me from behind his sunglasses. I wanted to take them off, to look at his blue eyes, but I didn’t. I was thankful I still had my own sunglasses on, so he couldn’t see the nerves on my face.

He swallowed loudly before finally speaking. “I need to tell you something.” He said, he voice cracking slightly.

My stomach clenched, my heart twisting in my chest. Oh god. I suddenly didn’t know if I wanted to know. What if he was breaking up with me? What if he had decided that this just wasn’t going to work. What if his family, as sweet as they had been to me, had told him they didn’t like me and to toss me?

I was terrified.

“Dylan,” he said, breaking me from my racing thoughts. He was barely whispering, but I could still hear him perfectly.

Oh god.

“Im in love with you.”

My head pulled back from his quickly, my mouth falling slack in surprise. His hands fell to my shoulders, his face expressionless. I stared at him, completely shocked.

That hadnt been what I was expecting. At ALL. I was always expecting the worst, always certain that whatever someone had to tell me was a bad thing. But this was the complete opposite.

He was in love with me. Love. He loved me.

Holy shit.

“What?” I heard myself blurt, mentally smacking myself.

He fidgeted, his thumbs making uneven grazes on my skin. He looked terrified. And so unbelievably adorable.

He sighed loudly as he gain his nerve to say it again. “I love you.”

Hearing the words a second time caused me to take a quick intake of breath.

My mind was racing. He loved me. Niall actually loved me. And I loved him. Holy shit.

“Now would be a good time to say something.” He said, a mixture of nerves and annoyance lacing his tone.

I reached up and wound my fingers his the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him to me. I kissed him hungrily, suddenly ignorant to our public setting. He met my enthusiasm, his tongue slipping into my mouth, our breath mingling as our hands grasped whatever they could to pull us closer.

Pulling back slightly, I whispered against his lips. “I love you, too.”

The smile that broke out across his face was heart melting. He growled, reaching down and lifting me off the wall and into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist, his hands on my bum to hold me up as I clung to his neck. We laughed against each others lips, both giddy with relief.

After kissing for a few moments, I tucked my head into his neck, just holding onto him tightly as he held me. We didn’t say anything, just stayed completely wrapped around each other as we let the reality fall over us.

This was what he had been talking to Taylor about. I knew it. She had been his go to for most things related to us, so it only made sense to me now that he would have wanted to gage my reaction through her. All the fear and uncertainty I had felt since that morning washed away as the breeze surrounded us with the warm summer air.


	23. Chapter 23

I clung to him, my fingers in his hair, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. I was sure I was choking him, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“You have NO idea how long Ive been waiting to say that,” he said, leaning back to look at me. “Its been driving me insane.”

I just giggled. “Short drive.”

He narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses, giving me an menacing look. With a jolt, he pushed me up and over his shoulder, carrying me away from the wall as I flailed.

“Naill!” I shouted, my hands on his hips to keep myself from falling over him. My hair fell down in a cascade across my face. “Put me down!”

He just slapped my ass in response, ignoring my squeals.

“Oi!” I heard an unfamiliar voice call from not far away. “This guy giving you trouble, miss?”

I tried to crane my head to look around Niall, but all I could see was his side as I swayed over him as he walked.

“What are you going to do about it, wanker?” Niall called back to the unknown voice.

I was a little shocked that Niall would speak to someone like that. He was always so well mannered. He stopped, his arms still around my legs. He didn’t put me down as I struggled to see why he had stopped.

“Well, I could probably show her a better time than you, mate.” The voice mocked.

Niall snorted. “I doubt that.”

Okay, I was getting annoyed. Being slung over his shoulder caveman style was fun sometimes, but not when my bum was now facing some stranger.

“Um, hello?” I called from behind Niall, trying to swing around to look. “Can you put me down now, please?”

“Oh, sorry babe.” Niall said, as if just remembering I was there. He leaned forward, placing me gently on the ground. The moment my feet made contact with the earth, I smacked his arm.

“You are such an ass!”

He just grinned at me cheekily.

“Such a ladies man, eh, Horan?” the mystery voice taunted. I turned to find a dark hair guy, about the same age as Niall, grinning down at me. He was an inch or two shorter than Niall, lean in build, his brown hair swept to the side.

Niall put an arm around my waist, pulling me to his side. “You know it.”

The new guy laughed, reaching out to shake Nialls hand in a familiar way. “How you doing mate?” he said, laughing. “When did you get back?”

“Yesterday,” Niall answered, dropping his hand to his side. “Got a couple weeks off.”

I looked between the two, waiting for someone to fill in what I was missing.

As if seeming to read my thoughts, Niall looked down at me. “Oh, sorry. Dylan, this is Sean, my mate from school. Sean, this is Dylan.”

Sean reached out, taking my hand and bringing the back to his lips. “Pleasure is all mine, love,” he said with a wink.

I laughed, taking my hand back. Niall gave Sean a one fingered gesture. “Keep your hands to yourself, Cullen.”

Sean just shrugged, his hands sliding in his pockets. The two began to chat about people and places I didn’t know, while I waited. Niall kept some form of contact with me at all times, whether an arm around me, or holding my hand. I thought back to the few moments before when he had been looking down at me nervously.

”Im in love with you” I couldn’t stop the grin from coming to my face.

“You should come by while you’re home, yeah?” Sean said, and I got the feeling the conversation was coming to an end.

“Will do. Dylan is here for a couple more days before heading home to LA. I will give you a ring then.”

Sean laughed. “Don’t wanna bring her by to meet your mates, eh?”

“You dirty lot? Fuck no.”

The two gave their goodbyes, Sean winking at me again before heading off down the street.

Niall began to lead me back in the direction of home, all the tension from earlier long faded. Instead we walked quietly, a peaceful silence, as we made our way back to his mothers house. 

 

I couldn’t believe my time in Ireland was over. It had been an incredible five days, spending time with Niall in the comforts of his family home. His family was amazing, and I loved watching him interact with them. He was cheeky to his mother, but in a loving way. More than once she would smack his bum with a wooden spoon as he tried to steal food from the kitchen while she was cooking. He and Greg would wrestle all over the living room, while Denise and I scrambled to move items out of their war path.

My third day in Ireland I had taken family portraits of Greg, Denise and little Theo. We had gone to a local park, using the beautiful trees and features as backdrops. They had been more than pleased with the results, scrolling through the pictures on my computer as I loaded them to a flash drive for them.

“Oh my god, these are amazing,” Denise sighed, her eyes glued to my laptop. “You are our official family photographer.”

“Yeah, so don’t fuck this up and make her run away screaming, Niall.” Greg teased, shooting Niall a look. He just snorted in response.

After a long goodbye with his family, Niall had driven me to the airport to catch my flight back home to LA. Standing at the gate, I clung to him, not waiting to let go. We had over a week before the guys would be coming to LA to start the North American leg of the tour, and that seemed way too long to me. It would be the longest we had been apart since we met.

I buried my face in his chest, holding on tightly. His arms were around my shoulders, squeezing as if he was as reluctant as I was to let go.

“You’re going to miss your flight, love.” He said, mumbling into my hair.

“I don’t care.” I pouted against his t-shirt. I felt him laugh.

“Its only a week,” he assured me, pushing me back so he could kiss me. “I will be in LA before you know it.

I just pouted in response. The tears were stinging the back of my eyes, and I couldn’t look at him. I hadnt realized until that moment how attached I was to him. The thought of being away from him make me sick.

He placed a finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him. The blue of his eyes still made my knees weak, even now. My lip shook. He frowned. “Com’on, baby, don’t cry.” He kissed me to still my lip. “One week. That’s it.”

I nodded against him.

A loud voice called throughout the airport, signally my plane was going to begin boarding.

Niall sighed loudly. “Okay, com’on. Go, before I change my mind and keep you here.”

“I like that idea.” I said, running my hands up his back. He growled at the feeling of my nails through his shirt.

“You’re going to be the death of me, woman.”

I smiled, reaching up to kiss him. I sighed deeply before stepping back out of his arms. Once I was free from the contact, I found it a little easier to pick up my bag, and take another step back. Our eyes were locked on each other, but we didn’t move to touch each other again. We knew it was harder to separate so better to stay apart.

“One week.” He reminded me as he stood still.

I nodded, turning to start walking away towards my gate before I lost my nerve. I had only made it a few steps before Nialls voice called out to me.

“Dylan!”

I turned.

“I love you.” He said, smiling cheekily.

I smiled back. “I love you too” 

 

Struggling into my apartment, I dropped my heavy bag inside the door, kicking it shut behind me with my foot. I tossed my keys on the table, looking around at the familiar surroundings.

It had been months since I had been in this space, but it felt like only yesterday. I slipped off my shoes, going into the kitchen and pulling out a bottle of water. Looking inside, I realized I would have to do groceries. I had let my food supply die down almost completely when I knew I was going to be gone for months, and now realized how empty my cupboards were. Fuck. I hated grocery shopping.

I glanced at my answering machine. Holy fuck. Being gone all this time apparently meant I would be spending my home listening to messages. I walked around to take a seat at the breakfast bar, pulling a notepad out from under the phone and grabbing a pen to start making lists of who I had to call.

I pressed the button, a beep signaling the first message.

Twenty minutes later, I had gotten through them all. Most were stupid things I ignored. A couple were my mother, and I rolled my eyes at how she would leave a message knowing I wasn’t home to receive it. One was Maui from two days before, telling me to call her when I got home so we could hang out. One was from Brenda at the ER, asking if I would be interested in picking up any shifts during my time home.

What bothered me was the fact that there were several messages from newspapers, magazines, and even strangers, asking me to comment on my relationship with Niall. How the fuck had these people gotten my number? Did they have no shame, calling up a stranger to pry into their private life?

I ignored all those calls, tossing the pen and paper down. None of the calls were overly important. I would return a few later.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket.

Niall: miss u like crazy babe. Xx

I smiled.

Me: miss u 2

Niall: you get home ok?

Me: yup. Need to do shopping tho

Niall: more lingerie? ;)

I snorted.

Me: groceries, you little perv

Niall: no fun

Me: you will live

Niall: I love you

Me: I love you too

I put the phone on the table, pulling my bag into my room. My phone rang moments later, and I scurried to answer it.

“I love you too, babe!’ I called into the phone.

“Wow,” Taylors amused voice rang through the line. “I love you too, Dylan, but maybe we should keep our romance on the down low.”

I laughed. “Sorry. I thought you were Niall.”

“Apparently.” He snorted. “You got home ok?”

“Yeah. Just putting off going to get groceries. I forgot that we clean out my fridge before I left.”

“Well put it off a little longer. Lets go have dinner! Ive missed you. We can get groceries after.”

Any reason to put off grocery shopping was a good one in my book.

“I will be over in 10 minutes,” I said, going to the door to pull my shoes back on.


	24. Chapter 24

I surprised even myself at how quickly I fell back into my normal life. I picked up a couple shifts in the ER, much to Brendas relief. They had been short staffed a lot lately, which was nothing new, so my availability made her life a lot easier.

We were sitting out at triage one slow afternoon, watching as the medics rolled their gurney towards the registration desk once I had done my part.

“So, how are things going with your new career?” Brenda asked, leaning onto the desk.

“Its not really a new career.” I corrected, closing the patients screen. “Just an opportunity.”

Brenda laughed. “One hell of an opportunity.” She mocked.

I just smirked, leaning back into my chair. It was actually nice to be in my familiar environment. The green scrubs I had gotten from the dispenser that morning were comfortable and loose, my hair pulled up into a messy bun at the back of my head. I had pens stuck in my hair, a habit I had gotten into during nursing school. I had my gray EMERGENCY sweatshirt on, the cool air from outside blowing in through to automatic doors at my side.

“I hear you’ve gotten yourself a little Irish fling.” Brenda said, forcing me to turn to her. She wasn’t usually one to follow gossip, but I had learned quickly upon my return to the ER that my relationship with Niall had made the rounds. Frequently.

“Hes not a fling.” I corrected, giving her a look.

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh really? Am I to assume that this boy has finally broken you out of your celibacy?”

I burst out laughing. “Youre such a bitch.”

“Agreed,” she said, laughing. “Honestly, though, you seem different. Happy. Its nice to see.”

I felt the blush rise in my cheeks. We had only spent a couple days together since my return as I filled in for sick calls, and already she could see a change in me that I didn’t even realize had been there.

“I am happy” I admitted. “Hes amazing.”

As if sensing he was being talked about, my phone buzzed.

Niall: whatcha doin?

I grinned at my phone, causing Brenda to laugh. “Ah, young love.” He smirked before standing to go do her rounds in the department.

I typed back quickly.

Me: at work. Filling in for sick calls.

Niall: good. Keep yourself busy and out of trouble

Me: youre one to talk!

Niall: I am being very good. Of course, you know that already

I gaped at my phone and his dirty innuendo.

Me: don’t be dirty

Niall: lol

Me: miss u

Niall: miss u too babe

Just then, EMS brought in another stretcher, a dramatic woman yelling something about her stomach ripping open in pain. I typed quickly

Me: drama. Gotta go

Niall: don’t you mean trauma?

Me: no, drama. There is a distinct difference

Niall: k. love u

Me; love u too 

 

Finally the day of the guys arrival in LA was here, and I couldn’t contain my excitement. Niall had texted me hours before just as their plane was about to take off. I hadnt heard from him since, and it was driving me crazy. I, therefore, had been driving Taylor crazy.

“Oh my GOD!” she yelled, both hands clamping down on my leg as it bounced. “If you don’t stop Im going to fucking kill you”

I ignored her.

We were at the Staples Center, waiting for the guys to arrive. Harry had texted Taylor a couple hours before, saying they had landed, and after dropping their stuff off at the hotel, they would be coming to the venue to set up and do sound check.

Taylor and I decided to meet them there, and were currently sitting on the edge of the stage that had already been assembled. She swung her legs, the back of her boots clicking on the side every time.

“Oh my GOD!” I shouted. “If you don’t stop THAT Im going to fucking kill YOU!”

We glared at each other.

Finally Taylor laughed. “Fuck, we need to get laid. We are way too moody right now.”

“I think I can help with that.” A familiar voice called from across the stage. Harrys familiar face came into view, his curly hair a mess. He had on black jeans and a black band shirt. Taylor jumped up and practically ran into his arms. She half jumped, half fell into him, and they laughed as they fell onto the stage kissing.

Ugh. Other people in love made me sick.

“So what was this I heard about you needing to get laid?” Harry said, tapping Taylor on the nose.

“Oh shut up, Styles.” She snorted, rolling off him to sit up. Harry stood, pulling her with him.

“Fine, if you don’t want my services, I will take them elsewhere.” He said, coming over to pull me up into a hug. “Care for a night you’ll never forget?” he teased.

“Always,” I responded with a wink.

“Oi! Hello!? Im right here!” Nialls voice called from behind Harry. “I can hear you!”

I looked over to him, and almost fainted. I had somehow forgotten how gorgeous he was. Wearing black pants and a white t-shirt, his hair styled how I loved it, he cross the large space in several long strides before pulling me away from Harry and into him. He wasted no time crashing his lips to mine hungrily as he gripped my waist tightly. I knotted my hands in his hair, savoring his touch, smell, taste. God I loved this boy.

“Ugh, okay, get a room.” Harry said, walking away with disgust at our display.

I laughed against Nialls lips. God I had missed him. After a very long and very public display, Niall pulled back to look at me.

“Fuck, babe, I forgot how fit you look.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

“Yes ma’am.” He agreed, pressing his lips to mine again.

“Okay guys, break it up!” Paul called from across the stage. “We gotta get this rehearsal in before the show tonight. Niall, put it away for a bit, will you?”

I burst out laughing as Niall went to pull his pants down and moon Paul. I grabbed his hands to stop him.

“Don’t you dare!” I scolded.

“Don’t worry about it, Dylan,” Liam came up to hug me hello. “We’ve all seen his squidgy arse more times than we can count.”

I hopped off the stage to join Taylor in seats at the front while the guys went through the routine of rehearsal and sound check. Between songs, Niall would jump down, run over to me, kiss me quickly and then race back to the stage before Paul could stop him. Finally, after the fourth time this happened, Paul shouted.

“Okay, that’s it. You all are done since Niall is too distracted.”

The guys scattered quickly before Paul could change his mind, clapping Niall on the back in thanks. Harry came up and took Taylor by the hand.

“Shall we fix that little ‘laid’ problem we were talking about?” he asked with a smirk.

“Please,” she laughed. “You’re probably gonna take a nap.” This prompted Harry to pinch her side, causing her to squeal. They took off down the center isle, the screams echoing in the empty arena.

I watched them, laughing, until I felt Niall come up behind me, his arms circling my waist, his chest pressing into my back. He kissed my shoulder before taking my hand and pulling me along with him.

“Come with me.”

He led me through the maze behind the stage towards the dressing rooms. We passed the room designated for them, walking further down the hall. I was confused, trying to figure out where he was taking me. Finally, he stopped, ushering me inside a small, dark room.

Inside was long black couches, a stark contrast against the white walls. It was very dimly lit, the only light coming from the small bathroom in the corner.

“What is this?” I asked, turning to look at Niall as he shut the door.

“Just a little lounge room they have.” He said, coming to stand directly in front of me. “They use it for interviews and shit.”

I nodded, meeting his eyes. Even in the poor lighting, they seemed to burn into me. He reached up, stroking the back of his fingers long my cheek, before bringing his lips to mine. I took hold of the front of his shirt, pulling him into me. He wrapped his arms around me, bending me backwards as he kissed me. I took a step backwards to steady myself, laughing against his lips.

“Easy babe,” I said, righting myself. “Im not that flexible.”

Niall snorted. “Yeah right. I know better than that.”

He pressed his lips to me again, and it didn’t take long for the weeks worth of longing, missing him, and sexual frustration to fall down around us. He started walking backwards, pulling me along with him, until the back of his knees hit a couch. He fell back, pulling me onto his lap to straddle him. His hands were fisted in my hair as mine roamed down his chest and abs. God I had missed him.

It didn’t take long for us to both end up topless, as my fingers fumbled with the button on his jeans. He slipped his fingers into the back of mine, teasing the skin as I struggled.

“Fuck!” I whined when I couldn’t get his pants undone.

“Well, we could, if you would just get my pants off.” He teased.

I gave him a look, before swinging my leg over and standing up off of him. “You do it then!”

He grinned, looking up at me with heavy lidded eyes. He leaned forward, slipping his fingers into the belt loops of my jeans to pull me towards him. Kissing my navel, he hummed against m skin. My hands kneaded the flesh of his shoulders as his hot breath blew across my stomach. He dipped his head slightly, taking the corner of my jeans in his teeth, pulling sharply to pop the button. Pulling a little more, he slid the zipper down before staring up at me.

“That’s how its done.” He said smugly.

I swatted his shoulder before he stood quickly, undoing his jeans and sliding them down along with his boxers. He reached up and slid mine to the floor, taking my knickers with them in a swift movement. He sat again, leaning back into the couch, as he reached up and guided me by the hips to straddle his. I hovered over him, meeting my lips to his for a long, deep kiss which made him groan into my mouth. I lowered slightly, his tip at my entrance, letting him slide in only an inch. He groaned louder, shifting his hips to meet me. I pulled away, not letting him control the contact. He pulled away to give me a sharp look.

I just smiled sweetly back at him. “Patience?”

“Not fucking likely.” He argued.

“Language!”

He huffed loudly before pulling my face back to him. I lowered again, sliding him in slightly, then a little more, then out. Then taking him in a little further, than all the way out. The noises he made were comical and incredibly sexy. I was driving him insane and loving every minute of it. Finally he had had enough, gripping my hips tightly, he pressed me down hard, filling me. I gasped, my eyes watering as I stretched around him. He growled loudly as he buried himself into me. My fingers dug into his shoulders, his into my hips. He gave me a minute to accommodate, before our hips began to shift together.

“God, Ive missed you.” He said between groans.

“Ive missed you too.” My head fell back as he pushed my hips forward into him. “Fuck, Ive missed you.”

We were a writhing mess of arms, legs, and animalistic sounds. Our pace quickened, the pressure in my core coming to the edge. Niall dug his fingers into the flesh of my bum, pulling me hard into him. The friction this caused forced me to arch my back, screaming.

“Fuck!”

My nails racked is shoulder, as I came, my head spinning, my breathing sputtering.

He faltered his pace as I clenched, reaching his own end. His head fell back against the back of the couch in a string of cuss words.

I fell into him, breathless. After a moment to regain our senses, his hands slid up and down the bare skin of my back. I sat up, sated, to look down at him.

He grinned up at me, sleepily. “Now that is a welcome to LA I would highly recommend.”

I gaped at him, slapping his shoulder before sliding painfully off him. “Don’t you recommend anything to anyone, Horan.”

He reached out and slapped my ass as I scrambled to find my clothing. Standing quickly, he pulling me into him.

“You’re right.” He snickered, kissing my forehead. “I don’t share.”


	25. Chapter 25

The guys had 3 shows at the Staples Center in LA before heading to Las Vegas, which they were excited about. Of course, the drinking age in America was 21, something they were NOT excited about. Niall especially. He was a firm believer in the fact that since he was Irish, it was his right to drink beer. This made me roll my eyes every time he brought it up.

It had been so nice having Niall around again. Even nicer having him in LA. I had picked up a four hour shift in the ER that morning, and Niall had surprised me by coming to pick me up from work to take part in a shoe shopping and Starbucks plan.

“Dylan, there is a cute guy at the triage desk asking for you.” Nicole informed me as she came into Fast Track where I was working. I gave her a weird look, having no idea Niall would be crazy enough to actually come into the emergency room to find me. I went out to triage and found Niall sitting at the desk, chatting with Melissa and Cheryl, the two girls enamored with him. When he saw me, he smiled, standing up to come hug me tightly. Melissa and Cheryl ‘awwwed’ at us, and I gave them the finger over Nialls shoulder.

After a very long, and very boring experience in the sport store which culminated with Harry and Niall knocking over a display of golf balls, we headed to a little café to grab lunch. Niall had a baseball cap and dark sunglasses on to hide himself from passers by, while Harry had on his signature beanie. So far we hadnt been interrupted too much. Steve and Mike were with us for safety, but thankfully there hadnt been any incidents requiring their attention.

We took possession of a table in the corner of the sidewalk patio, ordering a variety of items that we knew we would all just share off each others plates as we had a tendency to do. Any time Harry ordered something, he took two bites, then assumed what you had ordered looked better, reaching over to take some. There was no point in getting annoyed after the tenth time he did it. You just got used to it.

We talked through the entire meal, laughing and enjoying each others company as friends. We didn’t get too many opportunities to do ‘regular’ things, so days like this were special. Once we finished, Niall went inside to pay while Harry made a run to the loo. I watched Niall walk away from behind my sunglasses, a smirk on my face. I loved his little bum.

“Quite staring at his ass.” Taylor scolded before taking a sip of her iced tea.

I snorted. “How did you know?”

“You always get that look on your face when you’re looking at him and you think no one knows.” She informed me matter-of-factly. “Its this sickening ‘Im so in love’ look.”

I rolled my eyes, shoving her shoulder as she laughed. “Bitch.”

Taylor and I began to bicker, as he did quite often, when a voice interrupted us.

“Dylan?”

I turned instinctively at the sound of my name, looking up to see a familiar pair of gray eyes staring down at me. My stomach jumped into my throat, the air rushing from my lungs. I heard Taylor behind me, choking on her drink. I gazed up at the tall man in front of me, wishing immediately that I could disappear.

“It is you!” he said, a smile coming to his face.

My voice was shaky when I finally responded. “Hello, Christian.”

“Dylan!” A high pitched voice squeaked, and I noticed for the first time the young girl beside the man who broke my heart.

I smiled at the girl, standing before enveloping her in a hug. Regardless of what had happened between Christian and I, it had nothing to do with his little sister, Sarah. “Hey, baby girl.” I said, hugging her tightly.

Letting her go, I looked up at Christian. He was still a beautiful man. I would be lying if I said that time and hurt had changed that. He was tall, over six foot, with light gray eyes and a smile that could knock you on your ass. We had met our freshman year of university, and I had fallen for him so quickly that I thought I would never get up again. He had been my first everything. My first serious relationship. My first love. My first sexual experience. Also my first real heart ache. He had gone away to do a semester aboard our final semester in our sophomore year, and when he returned I learned quickly that he had been less than faithful. VERY less than faithful. Apparently it only took him 3 days to find himself in another womans bed.

I spent the next week in bed, crying and eating tubs of ice cream generously supplied by Taylor. She, of course, had never trusted him. She tolerated him for me, but admitted after the revelation of his infidelity that she had always had a feeling he couldn’t be trusted. She said it was just something in his manner, that he knew he was appealing, and no matter how good he had it with me, the excitement of the pursuit meant more to him.

I didn’t reach out to hug Christian. I wouldn’t do that. Standing in this close of a proximity to him still gave me flutters. I guess that feeling never really goes away when with your first love. Although at that moment the most overwhelming feeling was to punch him in the face.

Christian made the first move, reaching out to pull me into an embrace. He wrapped his arms around me comfortably, the way he had so long ago. I returned the hug weakly, pulling away quickly. He noticed my hesitance, letting me go when I pulled back. Looking over my shoulder to smile at Taylor, he nodded at her.

“Hey, Taylor.”

Even though she had sunglasses on, I knew she was giving him the death stare. “Christian” was all she said.

“Oh my god!” Sarah squealing, her mouth hanging open. “Youre Taylor Swift!”

My eyes automatically darted around, praying no one had heard Sarahs little exclamation. Thankfully, those around us continued in their ignorance.

Despite the fact that Christian had met Taylor many times while we were dating, I assumed he hadnt mentioned my famous friend to his family. This was evident in the excitement of his fourteen year old sister, as she stared up at him.

“You never told me you knew HER!”

Christian looked between us awkwardly. “She and Dylan are friends, Sarah.”

Sarah turned to me, her eyes wide. “Really?”

I laughed. “Surprisingly, yes. Shes annoying, but I keep her around.”

Taylor swatted my ass from behind me, muttering some insult.

“Can I have your autograph?” Sarah asked, glazing at Taylor.

“Sure, sweetie. Come on over here.” Taylor turned on her ‘celeb mode’, patting the chair I had vacated for Sarah to sit.

That left Christian and I stared at each other awkwardly.

“So, how are you?” he asked, his hands in his pockets. He wore dark denim jeans, a blue sweater over a white collared shirt. He did look good, as much as I hated to admit it. “You look amazing.”

“Great,” I said, maybe a little too emphatically. “Never better.”

“What are you doing now?”

I fought the urge to blurt out ‘a sexy Irishman’, instead answering with a more modest response. “Working part time in the ER at Cedar Sinai, until recently. The last few months Ive been travelling, working as a photographer.”

Christian seemed surprised. “Really? You’re little hobby took off then?”

I wanted to slap him. He had never taken any interest in my photography. Always referring to it as my ‘little hobby’.

“Yeah, it did.” I answered, slightly smug.

I wasn’t going to ask him how he was, or what he was doing. I didn’t want to know.

Suddenly, Sarah squealed behind us, causing me to turn at she shrieked.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!”

I followed her wide eyed gaze to realize that Harry and Niall had come back to the table. Harry smiled down at Sarah, who had thankfully lost the power of speech, while Niall was intently looking at me.

“Hello, there, love.” Harry said, coming to stand beside Sarah. I could have sworn her heart stopped.

“You’re Harry!” she said, her voice shaking. She turned quickly to Niall. “And you’re Niall!”

Niall looked down at her, smiling. “I am. And who might you be?”

“S-s-Sarah.”

Niall reached out and shook Sarahs shaking hand. “Hi Sarah.”

I looked back to Christian, who stared at me. His expression was unreadable, but I was certain I saw a hint of surprise at who I now kept as company. Oh if he only knew, I thought to myself.

Harry was the first to approach us, seemingly oblivious to the tension. Fucking Styles.

“Hey, Im Harry.” He said, reaching a hand out to Christian.

“Christian.”

“You know Dylan?” he said, putting an arm across my shoulders.

“You could say that.” Christian responded, giving me a smirk. I knew that grin. He was being an ass, giving me a look that he used to reserve for when he was thinking something dirty. I wanted to slap the look right off his face.

Niall came to my other side, extending a hand to Christian in a similar greeting. The boys then returned their attention to Sarah, who repeatedly told them what a big fan she was and how much she loved them.

“You know them, right, Christian?” she squeaked. “They’re in One Direction.”

“I know, Sarah,” he said, slightly annoyed. “Lord knows your room is covered in their posters.”

Sarah frowned at him, but her expression was quickly altered by Harry putting his arm around her. “Posters, yeah? Any of me?”

God, he even flirted with kids.

Christian took a step closer to me, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking one back. I didn’t want him any closer to me that politely necessary. He noticed the action, stopping in his tracks.

“So, you’re hanging out with boy bands now?” he said, his low voice full of mocking.

“Actually, Im dating Niall.” I blurted, smugly satisfied at the look on Christians face. “And Im currently their tour photographer, so yeah, I hang out with them a lot.”

Christian didn’t have a remark for that. Instead stood staring at me. His face was stern, hard. I remembered how for months after we broke up, he would send me the occasional email or text, wanting to just get into my head. Taylor said he was just playing games, knowing how any contact would affect me. He loved knowing that I still wanted him, even though he hurt me.

Now, seeing that I had not only moved on, but in a BIG way, he seemed annoyed.

And it was oddly gratifying.

“So, Sarah,” Niall said, sitting across from the star stuck teenager. I turned my back to Christian, almost laughing the scene in front of me. Harry had wiggled himself half onto my hair to share it with Sarah, much to her excitement. Across from her was Niall, and beside her was Taylor. She was living a teenage girls dream. I half expected her to ask Christian for his phone to take a picture. Niall continued, twirling his straw in his drink. “You coming to the show tonight?”

“No,” she said, pouting. “I wasn’t able to get tickets. I tried really hard, but they sold out so fast.”

“Aw, that’s no good.” Harry said, grinning down at her. “I think maybe we can work something out, since you’re our biggest fan and all.”

It was official. Sarah had gone mute.

Harry looked over to Christian. “Why don’t you bring her by the Staples Center around seven, yeah? East entrance? We can get you in.”

Sarah almost fell off her chair. “Are you serious?” she squeaked, her face pale. “I mean, seriously serious?”

“I am very seriously serious.” Harry teased. “Any friend of Dylans, is a friend of ours.”

Sarah shrieked like only a fourteen year old can, my ears ringing. Several people in the café looked over, and I wanted to hide.

I was going to fucking KILL Harry Styles. I liked that he was being so sweet to Sarah, but in turn he had invited my ex-boyfriend to the show. They obviously had NO idea the history between us, and seemed completely ignorant to the tension that radiated off my body. Even Niall, my own fucking boyfriend, was completely blind. Fucking idiots! Both of them!

“Sure,” Christian said, his gaze on me. “It would be nice to catch up.”

I forced a fake smile on my face.

“Yeah.” I said, completely emotionless. “Real nice.”


	26. Chapter 26

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Niall yelled, his hands in his hair as he paced back and forth in the dressing room.

I glared at him. “Why are you yelling at ME? I didn’t fucking invite him to the show!”

“Well you didn’t fucking say anything to stop us, either!” he yelled back.

I wanted to slap him.

It was a tense walk back to the venue once we departed the café. Niall asked me what was wrong several times, and more than once I had caught Taylors eye. She gave me a quick and subtle shake of her head, indicating that it would be better to inform the guys of their epic fuck up once we were in a less public setting.

Once back at the Staples Center and in the safety of the dressing room, I informed Niall and Harry that the guy they had just invited to the show that night was my ex. The look on Nialls face would have been comical if I hadnt been so nauseated. Harry just looked pale, knowing it was in fact him who had invited him.

I sat in a chair against the wall, my legs pulled under me. Harry and Taylor sat on the couch adjacent to me, watching Nialls little freak out. Taylor sat with her hands in her lap, while Harry hand his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands.

Ugh. What a fucking nightmare.

Taylor looked up at Niall, giving him a glare.

“What was she supposed to say?” she bit back. “Its not Sarahs fault her brother is a douche who cheated on Dylan and broke her heart.”

My stomach twisted at her words like a punch in the gut. It was just a bitter reminder of how I had felt all those years ago.

Niall stopped his manic pacing, bringing his hands to his hips. He had pulled his bottom lip into his mouth, biting down as he stared at the floor. We sat in silence for several minutes before Harry filled looked up and turned to me.

“Im really sorry, Dylan.” He said, honesty in his voice. “I just thought I was doing something nice for your friend.”

I gave him as genuine a smile as I could muster at the moment. “I know Haz. Its not your fault. And Sarah is really happy. Shes a great kid, Im glad you’re doing this for her.”

Nialls eyes shot to me as if I had said that I was glad Harry had invited Christian. God, he could be such an ass sometimes. I met his glare with narrowed eyes, waiting for him to challenge me. He didn’t, finally coming to sit on the couch across from Taylor and Harry, leaning forward on his knees.

“So now what?” he asked, looking at me.

“What do you mean, ‘now what?’ Now, they come, you guys be nice to them, show Sarah a great time, and they leave. That’s it.” I spelled out for him.

“And what about your little friend.” He said, mockingly. “I swear, babe, if he even tries to touch you, I will punch him in the face.”

“Okay, first, he wont try and touch me.” I assured him, trying to use a calming tone to keep Niall calm. “And second, you will do no such thing. The last thing you need is getting charged with assault, and the last thing I need is to bail my jackass boyfriend out of jail.”

He was about to argue, probably about the jackass comment, when Taylor interjected.

“It will be fine, you guys. No big deal. No different than a contest winner situation. I will be here with Dylan when you guys aren’t.” she looked directly at Niall when she finished. “Besides, I don’t think hes stupid enough to try anything when surrounded by guys who would kick his ass if he even looked at her sideways.”

Niall snorted. “Well, he cheated on her. Hes obviously not known for being too bright.”

I sighed loudly, pulling my knees to my chest. I looked at the edge of the coffee table, not waiting to meet any of their looks.

This was an awkward fucking conversation, and embarrassing and shit. Hey, lets all talk about the fuck shit that slept with half of Rome while away at school, came home to me, only for me to find texts from these girls on his phone as the way of finding out he had cheated. What a fun conversation! Popcorn please!

“Can I talk to Dylan alone for a minute?” Niall said, looking over to Taylor and Harry. His request had my eyes darting to his.

Taylor glanced at me, before standing. Harry followed behind her, uncertain. The tension in the room was palpable, and it was the first time in months that I had actually wanted to get away from Niall. He was the most loving, genuine, caring guy I had ever met. But he could be a giant douche when he was jealous. And right now, he was very much so.

He huffed loudly, before coming to kneel in front of my chair. I stayed with my knees pulled to my chest, needing the barrier between us. He wrapped his arms around my legs, leaning his chin on my knees so we were practically face to face. I stared into his blue eyes, which were blazing. We were silent for a while before he finally spoke.

“Did you love him?” he asked, his voice barely audible.

I was shocked at the bluntness of his question. I debated telling him if he was just going to grill me on every aspect of my relationship with Christian to save his breath. But I knew if the tables were turned, as much as I wouldn’t want to know the answers, I would still be asking the same questions.

“I did,” I admitted. “then.”

“Do you still?”

“Of course not!” I almost shouted. “Are you kidding me? Niall, even beyond the hurt he caused me, it has been almost five years. Im not the same person I was then, and Im sure he isn’t either.”

“Time doesn’t mean anything,” he argued, his voice remaining even and gentle despite the anger I knew he held. “If I lost you, I would still love you. I will love you till I die. And maybe still then.”

My heart squeezed. How could he, even when being a jealous dink, still be the most romantic man I had ever met?

I dropped my knees, leaning forward to take his hands and lean in close to him.

“Niall, whatever I felt for him, is nothing compared to what I feel for you.” I assured him, leaning my forehead to his.

He sighed, his breath tickling my face. We were quiet for a while before he asked his next question.

“Did you….” he didn’t finish the question, but I knew what he was asking.

“Yes,” I admitted. “he was my first.”

Nialls jaw clenched, and I knew he didn’t like that answer. But he didn’t argue, he didn’t blame, or yell. He just took deep breaths, his eyes closed as he held my hands tightly.

Finally after a long while, he reached up to take my chin, tipping my face up to meet my lips with his. “Im sorry,” he said quietly. “I know I acted like a jealous twat. But I just hate the idea of another guy in your life. I know that’s stupid, but I cant help it.”

I laughed at his honesty. “I cant say I like the idea of you being with anyone else before me, either.” I admitted. “But I know it happened. And in a way Im thankful.”

His eyes popped wide, staring at me when he registered my statement.

“Why?”

I smirked at him. “Because how else would you get so good in bed without practice? At least Im reaping the benefits from it.”

Niall snorted loudly, before laughing out loud. “Good lord, woman.”

I reached up, pulling his face to me and kissing him deeply. Pulling back, I met his eyes steadily.

“Its just one night. Nothing will happen. I will avoid him like the plague. Just be nice to Sarah. Taylor is right, it isn’t her fault Christian is an asshole.”

He nodded, “I know. I will do my best. But I mean it, if he even looks at you, I will punch him.”

I grabbed his hand, giving him a warning look. “Fists away, Rocky.” I teased, before standing up to lead him out towards the stage for soundcheck.

 

 

The guys were finishing up their sound check, when I heard Mike come up and call my name.

“Dylan!” he yelled from a few rows behind where Taylor and I sat in front of the stage. I turned to see him walking down the center isle, Christian and Sarah in tow. I tried to keep my face impassive, but I knew it probably looked strained. I wasn’t the best actress in the world, and it didn’t help that the moment Taylor saw Christian, a cuss word slipped through her lips.

I stood to greet them, keeping my focus on Sarah.

She had become quite attached to me while Christian and I were dating. Whenever I would go to his house, she would always claim my attention, wanting to play, go for bike rides, or just have girl time. She was the only girl with three brothers, so I knew she was probably starved for female companionship. She had been 9 when Christian and I split, and I knew my abrupt departure had been hard on her. A few months after the breakup, I had run into Christians brother, Jackson, at a mall. We chatted awkwardly for a bit, and he had told me that Sarah had been asking why I wasn’t around anymore. They had told her that Christian and I weren’t friends anymore, and apparently she had been heartbroken. I felt badly, but knew no matter what I couldn’t have anything more to do with his family.

Giving her a hug, I avoided Christians eyes entirely.

“Oh my god, this is so amazing!” Sarah squealed, her eyes darting all over the empty arena. “I cant believe Im here! My friends are SO SO SO jealous!”

I laughed. “I bet they are. Come and sit with Taylor and I until the guys finish up, okay?”

I took her my the hand, leading her to sit in the seat I had vacated beside Taylor. I made the distinct effort to sit on Taylors other side, leaving an empty seat beside Sarah, and therefore as far away from me as possible, for Christian. He said nothing, just nodded a hello, taking his seat. His eyes never left me, though, and the weight of his stare made me tense.

“Hi Taylor!” Sarah said quickly, sitting down and staring up at Taylor with a star struck look.

“Hey sweetie,” she said, giving Sarah a hug. “You excited?”

“OMIGOD yeah!” Sarahs eyes fell to the stage where the guys were finishing their last song for sound check. Niall was watching me intently, hardly paying attention to the song. Harry was watching us to, standing awkwardly as he sang his solo. I assumed the others guys had been briefed on the situation, because tense glares and glances were directed at us every few seconds.

Well, this was going to be fun.

Sarah watched the boys on stage, beaming excitedly. “Oh my god, theres Liam!” she shrieked, pointing as if we didn’t know who he was. “I love him! Hes my favorite.”

I laughed, leaning around Taylor to look at Sarah. “Well, how about you come with me and we say hi to him?”

Sarahs eyes looked like they were about to fall out of her head. “Are you serious?”

I smiled, standing to reach my hand out to her. I lead her passed Christian, trying desperately to get past him as fast as I could. Coming around the side of the stage, we climbed the stairs and over to the guys who had just finished the last song.

“Liam,” I called, bringing Sarah up to him. I was practically dragging her at this point, her feet losing the ability to walk. “This is my friend Sarah. Turns out, she is your biggest fan.”

Liam stepped up, taking Sarahs hand from mine and leaning down to her. “Is that so?”

Sarah just nodded in response, her mouth open.

“Well, my biggest fan, how about you and I take a little tour of the stage?”

I was surprised Sarah didn’t vomit on his shoes. After introducing her to Louis and Zayn, both of whom gave her a hug, Liam started showing her around the stage, while Louis and Zayn followed. They seemed to want to me included, or maybe were just making an effort to make this easier on me by giving Sarah as much attention as possible. Either way, she seemed in heaven, which made me smile.

Harry came up to my side, leaning his head on my shoulder.

“I really am sorry, love.” He said, his arm snaking around my waist. “I know this is probably really uncomfortable for you.”

“Honestly, its okay, Haz. Its just one evening. And look how excited Sarah is,” I said, pointing at the beaming expression on her face as Liam let her use the microphone to sing ‘Little Things’ together. “I can deal with Christian. Or avoid him.”

“I like the second suggestion,” Nialls voice sounded as he came up and kissed me. His slid his arms around me, subsequently removing Harrys arm to replace it with his own. He kissed me deeply, passionately, his tongue meeting mine. I knew this was partly for Christians benefit, but really, I didn’t care. I slipped my arms around his neck, yielding to the curve of his body.

“WHOA!” Sarahs voice was suddenly beside us. I broke away from Niall to look over at her. She was gaping at us, the microphone still in her hand. “You’re making out with Niall!”

I laughed, reaching over to pinch her side playfully. “Yeah, he’s my boyfriend, love.”

Sarah turned her eyes to Niall, who smiled at her. Looking back to me, Sarah lowered her voice.

“Hes a lot cuter than my brother.”

This earned a gut busting laugh from Niall and Harry, before Niall pulled Sarah into a tight hug.

“Oh, kid, you are officially my favorite person in the world.”


	27. Chapter 27

The evening had been going as smoothly as could be expected. The guys were playing their parts to a tee, with Sarah the focus of attention. She was in seventh heaven, and it was nice to see her so happy. Her parents had divorced when she was three, and she had lived with her mother and brothers. Her mother worked two jobs to make ends meet, and even though she was a sweet and caring woman, she just wasn’t around enough. It was nice to see Sarah have the attention she deserved.

Taylor had made good on her promise, always standing between Christian and I. It was starting to become comical, that any time he would move in my direction, Taylor would move as well. And not even subtly. Christian knew Taylor hated him, and Taylor didn’t care.

Niall had behaved amazingly, which made the entire ordeal much easier. He dotted on Sarah, and had been extremely pleasant to Christian, offering him a drink, or asking about his career in architecture. I knew it was all put on, but it didn’t matter. He was making good on his promise to behave, and that was al that mattered.

We had given them a tour of the venue, showing them the dressing rooms, hair and makeup, and even let Sarah take part in the traditional trashing of the bands room. This was something Harry usually did, but Sarah joined in, laughing as they tossed bottles and gently placed clothes around the room in an organized trashing.

More often than I would have liked, I had caught Christian watching me. He made no attempt to talk to me other than what was socially required, and had made no attempt at contact. But frequently I would feel his eyes on me, and turn, to find him watching. His expression was strange. A mixture of annoyance, determination, and unfortunately, want. Even after all this time, I knew him well enough to still know his looks. And it made my stomach turn.

I didn’t mention this to Taylor, because she would probably slap him. And I sure as shit didn’t say anything to Niall. He would have lost it. I chose to ignore it, avoiding his gaze and keeping my distance from him as best I could.

For the concert, Sarah and Christian sat with Taylor and I on the stage side of the barrier, in front of the first row. Sarah was in her glory, squealing and jumping and singing along. The guys would come to our side of the stage, waving and singing to Sarah frequently, which would send her into a tizzy.

Christian seemed bored. Although he had been perfectly pleasant during the time leading up to the show, once the lights were down, he had gotten withdrawn and surly. Where Sarah was out of her seat, dancing to the music, Christian stayed seated, his arms over his chest, watching the guys with annoyance. Well, watching one in particular. Niall.

Half way through the show, Taylor nudged me, leaning in to scream into my ear over the music.

“So far so good.” She said, nodding her head in Christians direction.

I nodded in return, wiping my forehead dramatically to show my relief.

The music lowered, and ‘More than This’ began. The energy in the room changed to match that of the beautiful ballad, the screaming dying down as the fans sang along. Sarah stayed standing, swaying to the music.

I felt a hand grip my arm, and turned in surprise. Christian was leaning across Sarahs vacated chair towards me, trying to get my attention. Reluctantly, I leaned to him.

“Wheres the bathroom?” he asked, yelling over the crowd.

“Backstage.” I answered, quickly trying to pull back into my seat. His hand remained on my arm.

“You need to show me.” He said, nodding to the pass around my neck.

I rolled my eyes. We hadnt given Sarah and Christian passes, since they were with us the entire time anyways. Therefore, for either of them to get around in the restricted areas, someone with a pass had to accompany them.

Fuck.

I leaned to Taylor, giving her a look. “Fuckhead needs the loo.”

She quickly went to stand. “I will take him.”

I took her arm, pulling her back to her seat. “No.” I argued. “I don’t want him to think that I cant be around him. I don’t want to give him that satisfaction.”

Taylor gave me a look, insinuating that who cares what he thought, but finally she nodded.

I stood, walking away towards the backstage area, not even checking if Christian was following. Reaching the curtain that separated the backstage from the audience, Mike pulled it aside for me as we entered. I knew Christian was behind me. I could feel him there. I didn’t turn, I didn’t make conversation. I just walked.

Reaching the door to the bathrooms at the back hall, I rounded on him.

“Here you go.” I said curtly.

He grinned down at me, standing closer than I would have liked.

“Thanks, princess.” He said, his former pet name for me sliding off his tongue.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t call me that.”

He took another step towards me, and I reflexively stepped back. Unfortunately, I stepped into the wall, my back pressing against the cold surface.

“Don’t be like that, Dylan.” He said, looking down at me with a sickening smile. We stared at me for a long moment, before speaking again. “God you look fucking good.” He said, his eyes sliding over my body.

I didn’t respond. I just stood there, glaring at him.

His eyes raised to mine again, the grin still on his face. “You know, I never would have pegged you for a girl who would sleep with her employer,” he said, the ugly words mismatched to the sweet tone he used. “But hey, I guess if it gets you where you need to be.”

I snorted. “Fuck you, Christian.”

“You have.” He replied, taking another step towards me until he was almost touching me. I resolved right then that he if made a single move to touch me, I would knee him in the balls. “And I am pretty sure I did you better than you’re new boy toy.”

This caused me to burst out laughing. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t challenge me, Dylan.”

With that, he quickly closed the small distance between us, roughly gripping my face in his hands, and crushing his lips to mine. He pressed my body into the wall with his, making it impossible for me to pull my leg back to knee him, or get any leverage to fight back. I pushed against his chest, squeezing my lips shut as he tried to force my response. He pulled back only far enough to speak. “Com’on, princess,” he growled. “you used to love it when I was forceful.” He brought his lips back to mine again, grabbing my struggling wrists and pinning them to the wall.

I tried to push back, his grip on my wrist tightening. I knew it was going to bruise. He tried to bring my knee up to his groin, but he blocked my intend with a shift of his hips.

“Now that isn’t very nice,” he scolded. He went to kiss me again, and I turned my face away. Not to be denied, he attacked my neck instead. “You know, I still think about you sometimes,” he said, leaving bites on my skin as I struggled. “My brothers say I was a fuck to cheat on you, and I guess they have a point. You were a great fuck, baby. “

I was just about to open my mouth to scream, when a booming voice sounded down the hall.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?”

Christian pulled back, breathless, releasing my body from the wall. I turned to see Harry, storming up the hall quickly. I ran to him, grabbing his arm and hiding behind him. I hated that I was acting like such a wounded woman, but at that moment, that was exactly what I felt like.

Harry stopped a few feet from Christian, his green eyes narrowed to slits. Christian met his gaze with a smug grin.

“Sorry about that, man,” Christian mocked, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “But you cant tell me you haven’t had a go with that. Shes quite the ride, yeah?”

Harry’s fist flew out quicker than I could register. Before I knew what happened, Christian was clutching his nose. Harry reached out, grasping the front of Christians shirt, ready to punch him again. I grabbed his arm stopping him.

“Harry, don’t!” I yelled. “Its not worth it. Please.”

Harry wouldn’t look at me, he just glared at Christian, he had released his bleeding nose, and was glaring back at Harry, almost daring him to hit him again.

“Com’on Styles,” he taunted. “Hit me. It would be great publicity.”

“Im sure so would you being charged with sexual assault, you fucking cunt.” Harry spat back, releasing Christian roughly and stepping back as I pulled his arm.

The two men stared each other down, before Christian shot me a look and slipped into the bathroom to clean up. Once he was gone, Harry turned to me, his hands on my arms.

“Are you okay?”

The adrenaline that had built up in my body started to fade, and my lip began to shake. I nodded my head unconvincingly before burying my face in Harrys chest. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight.

“I noticed you come back here with him, and came before Niall could.” He said. “Good thing too. He wouldn’t have stopped hitting the fuck.”

I lifted my head to look at Harry. “Please don’t tell him,” I pleaded. “He will freak.”

Harry frowned at me. He seemed to contemplate my plea, before shaking his head. “We will have to tell him, cause your wrists are bruising already. But not until they’ve gone, okay?”

A tear slid down my cheek, but I nodded. I had never been so thankful for this annoying, curly hair menace in my life.

Christian emerged from the bathroom, his nose bruised, his eyes red, but the blood was gone. He glared at me when he found me in Harrys arms. I knew he wanted to spit a remark, but he seemed to have thought the better of it.

Harry released me, to turn to Christian. “As soon as the show is done, you’re gone. I would have you kicked out now, but that isn’t fair to your sister. But the second its over, you’re out on your ass. And if we ever see you anywhere near us, or Dylan, or Taylor, or anyone we even fucking know, you will be sorry. Got that?”

Christian ignored Harry, his eyes blazing into mine. Finally he nodded, following us back to the stage.

Harry paused at the curtain, whispering something to Mike. Mikes eyes shot to me, then narrowed at Christian, before nodding and pulling the curtain aside. I didn’t bother to ask what Harry had said, as Mikes expression said it all. I knew he would he watching me for the rest of the night, and the moment the show was over, Christian would be getting a personal escort off the premises.

I returned to my seat quickly, ignored Taylors concerned look once she saw my face. I waved my hand dismissively when she gave me a look, letting her know that now was not the time. Sarah seemed oblivious to the tension, still singing and dancing from her seat. Christian returned to his place beside his sister, crossing his arms over his chest, looking bored. It was as if nothing had happened.

When the show ended, the moment the last note played, Mike was in front of Christian, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

“Ready to go?” he asked, his tone more of a statement than a question.

Sarah turned to me, hugging me tightly as she jumped up and down with excitement. “Thank you so so so so much!” she screamed. “This was the best night of my life.”

I hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. “No problem, kiddo. It was good to see you.”

Taylor came around to hug Sarah, standing protectively beside me.

Christian made no attempt to touch me as I gave him a curt good bye. He simply nodded, before looking down at Sarah.

“Lets go” he snapped, following Mike down the isle and into the dispersing crowd. Sarah waved, following her brother and disappearing.

Taylor and I made our way back to the dressing rooms. I was about to walk inside, when Taylor grabbed my arm and pulled me further down the hall and into the band dressing room. Closing the door tightly behind her, she glared at me.

“Okay, what happened?”


	28. Chapter 28

I threw myself down on the couch, pulling my knees to my chest protectively. Taylor sat beside me, angling her body towards me. I felt my lip start to shake, my face reddening.

I took a shaky breath.

“He fucking attacked me in the hall.” I blurted out. “I showed him the bathroom, and he started talking shit. Shit about how he fucked me better than Niall. I told him off, and he got pissed. He fucking pushed me against the wall and started kissing me. I tried to push him away, but I was pinned. I grabbed my wrists so I couldn’t fight back.” The tears slid down my cheeks now, and I wiped them away angrily. “If Harry hadnt shown up, I don’t know what he would have done.”

“That fuck” Taylor said, anger in her usually sweet voice.

I shook my head, wiping away more tears as they fell. I hated crying. I fucking hated feeling weak and helpless. I wasn’t that girl. I had taken self defense. I had fucking kicked the guys ass in the class! I knew what to do to defend myself, and here I had just been attacked by someone who I used to love.

Fuck my life.

“Harry hit him,” I continued, and Taylor sucked in a breath. “I stopped him before he could do it again, though. He told Christian if he tried to press charges, that I would charge him with sexual assault.”

“Yeah you fucking would!” she agreed emphatically. “And you still fucking should!”

“I cant!” I almost shrieked. “Then he will tell everyone that Harry hit him. The guys don’t need that shit. Not because of me being stupid.”

“How was this you being stupid?” she questioned.

“I should have just let you take him to the fucking head. But I didn’t want him to think I couldn’t be around him. That I cared enough to avoid him. I didn’t want to give him that kind of power. And all it got me was fucking attacked.”

Taylor sighed loudly as I cried, burying my face in my knees.

I felt the couch shift as she wiggled closer, wrapping her slim arm over my shoulders and leaning her head against the side of mine.

She didn’t say anything else. She just let me cry as she rubbed small circles across my back to calm me.

It wasn’t really helping.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and Niall stepped in, followed closely by Harry. I met Nialls confused eyes, before Harrys concerned ones. They paused at the door for a moment, before slipping inside and closing the door behind them.

Niall crossed the small space in two long strides, falling to his knees in front of me.

“Whats wrong?” he asked, pulling my knees down so I couldn’t hide my face. He took my small hands in his large ones.

The concern on his face made me cry harder, and I tried to pull away from him. He pulled me back, bringing a hand to my cheek to wipe away the tears.

“Dylan, what happened?” he asked again, more forcefully. I looked over to Harry, too scared to speak.

Harry cleared his throat, before speaking for me.

“The fuck attacked her outside the loo.”

Fuck, Harry. You could have been a little more diplomatic in your choice of words, I thought.

Nialls whole body tensed, turned quickly to look at Harry.

“WHAT?”

Harry kept his voice calm, making a concerted effort to stand between Niall and the door.

“She showed him to the loo. I noticed them go, so slipped away to check during the interlude. He had her against the wall.”

Nialls eyes shot back to my face, but I couldn’t look at him. I was so ashamed. Niall griped my hand so tight I thought he would break it, but the hand on my face remained gentle and soft.

“I fucking punched him in the face.” Harry continued proudly. “And told him if we ever saw him near Dylan again we would charge him with assault.”

This didn’t seem to make Niall feel any better. He just stared at me, his jaw tight. After a long, tense pause, Niall moved to stand.

“Im going to fucking kill him.”

I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to me.

“Don’t!” I yelled. “Don’t make it worse, please.”

“Worse?” he shouted back. “He fucking attacked my girlfriend! How can it get worse?”

“You getting thrown in jail, mate.” Harry said, reaching up to put a hand on Nialls shoulder. Niall brushed him off roughly. “That sure as hell wont fix it. I think I broke his nose, if it helps.”

Niall laughed without humor. “No it doesn’t fucking help, Haz. You shouldn’t have been the one to hit him. Shes my fucking girlfriend. Im the one who is supposed to fucking protect her from shit, not you.”

Niall glared at Harry, but Harry stood his ground. He knew Niall wasn’t mad at him, just at the situation, and probably himself. Niall was painfully protective, not even letting me walk around new cities by myself. Of course something like this was going to drive him off the edge.

I pulled on his hand again, trying to get his attention back.

“Niall, please,” I begged, tugging harder. “Please, just let this go.”

Niall looked down at me, his teeth grinding together. His free hand was clenched into a fist. He pulled his hand from mine to run it through his hair roughly. He stood in place for a few deep breaths, before turning towards the door. Harry made a move to block him, but Niall shoved passed. As he came to the door, he punched it violently, before pulling it open, storming through, and slamming it behind him.

I shook at his outburst.

Taylor looked up at Harry. “Haz, go with him, okay? Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Harry nodded before quickly darting out of the room to follow Niall. Once they were gone, Taylor hugged me tightly.

“Fuck.” I said, my knees back to my chest. “This is fucking just great, isn’t it? Now Niall is fucking on a rampage.”

“He will calm down,” Taylor assured me. “Hes just mad. You know how he is when it comes to you. Hes a fucking idiot when it comes to you, he loves you so much.”

Her words weren’t making me feel any better.

A moment later, the door to the room opened again. My eyes darted up, expecting Niall to return. But it wasn’t Niall. Josh and the other band members came into the room, their happy expressions turning to confusion when they found me crying and Taylor comforting me on their couch.

“Um, whats going on?” Josh asked, awkwardly.

“Nothing,” Taylor said, standing and pulling me with her. “Period cramps.”

The guys all groaned, before stepping aside to let Taylor and I through and out into the hall.

We drove back to the hotel in silence. I stared out the window at the city lights, screaming fans, and traffic. Taylor sat beside me in the back seat, texting on her phone.

“Harry is with Niall,” she told me as we neared the hotel. “They are still in the dressing room. Niall is freaking out, but the guys are keeping him contained.”

I nodded in response.

Once we reached the hotel, I couldn’t get to my room fast enough. Stepping inside, I went straight for the bathroom, leaving Taylor in the doorway. I stripped down, turning on the water as hot as I could stand it, throwing my clothes aside. I stepped under the streaming water, letting the heat wash away how dirty I felt. I stood under the stream for a long time, until finally Taylor knocked on the door. I didn’t answer. She poked her head in anyway.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” I finally responded. I heard her padding around the bathroom, before the door closed. I peaked around the curtain to see that she had gathered my clothes, and left me pajamas on the counter.

I loved that girl.

After a long, hot shower that still didn’t wash away the feeling on his hands on me, I dried off and slipped into the pajamas Taylor and left out. Coming out into the bedroom, I found her on my bed, flicking mindlessly through the channels on the TV. I crawled up to lay beside her, pulling the covers down and snuggling into them.

Finally, Taylor settled on an old rerun of Friends, tossing the remote to the side.

We didn’t talk. There wasn’t really anything to say at that point. I didn’t cry anymore, either. We just watched the show, not laughing at parts that usually had us in stitches. After a long while, and the fourth episode of Friends, I drifted off to sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

I awoke hours later to a pitch dark room. No light streamed through the window, and I realized that Taylor must have pulled the curtains before leaving. She was no longer beside me, my arm spread out to the side where she had once been laying. The only light in the room came from the clock on the side table, illuminating only a few inches across the top of the table.

I heard shuffling coming from somewhere in the dark room, my heart rate immediately increasing. I stilled my breathing, trying to listen harder. It was silent again. I let myself breathe, but again heard a noise, closer this time. I was about to call out, when I felt the bed shift, a long, lean body sliding in behind me. An arm came across my middle, holding me tightly.

I immediately tensed, before I recognized the scent of his bodywash.

“Shhh,” Nialls voice whispered in my ear as he tucked himself against me. He tangled his legs in mind, fluffing up his pillow to allow his chin to rest in the crook of my neck. “Babe, its just me.”

Normally, this would have made me immediately relax. The familiar feel of him against me while I slept was soothing. I had found during our time apart the week before that I had had a harder time falling asleep without him there.

But the memories of the nights dramas were racing through my mind, making it impossible for me to relax. Christian pressing me against the wall, pinning me down. His lips on mine. Harry punching him in the face. Nialls anger when Harry had told him what had happened. All of it was too fresh, and just made me more mad at myself for letting any of it happen.

Instinctively, I curled into myself more, knees lifting slightly towards my chest. Nialls legs came with mine, a tangled mess of limbs. His lips met the bare skin of my shoulder.

“Its okay.” He crooned.

“Is it?” I blurted out, finding my voice.

“What do you mean?” he asked, holding me tighter.

What a stupid question, I thought to myself. God, men were dense.

“I mean, is it okay? Because I don’t feel okay.” I tried to keep my voice steady, knowing that if I started to cry, it would only upset Niall more. He hated it when any girl cried, especially me. “And you certainly weren’t okay a few hours ago.”

Niall sighed loudly, propping himself up on an elbow. I rolled onto my back, searching for his face in the dark. I couldn’t find him, but I felt him. I felt the warmth coming from his body beside mine. I felt his hand running up and down my arm. I also felt the tension radiate off of him at the mention of earlier.

He was quiet for a while before speaking.

“Im sorry,” he said, his voice tight. “Im sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”

I sat up, reaching over and turning on the bedside light. We both squinted against the light that now filled the room. His eyes were on me, his jaw tight. He was under the covers, his chest bare. His hand picked at the comforter, and I noticed the bruising on his knuckles from where he had struck the door.

“Is that what this is about?” I said, incredulously. “You think you weren’t there for me?”

“I wasn’t!” he said, harshly. “Some fuck attacks you, and HARRY has to defend you? HARRY punches him in the face? HARRY has to comfort you?”

“Niall…” I started, but he quickly interrupted.

“You are MY girlfriend, Dylan. MINE. Its my job to protect you from shit. Im the one who is supposed to be there, not my mates.” He huffed loudly, his eyes falling to the bed where his hand continued its torture on the comforter.

I watched him for a long moment, frustrated with him. Hes blaming himself? He thinks its his fault he wasn’t ‘there for me’? UGH.

I leaned over and harshly removed his hand from its attack on the fabric, holding it tightly. Forcing myself into his eye line, I held his gaze. “You don’t have to protect me from everything, Niall. Shit happens. Shit is going to happen. You cant always throw a fit just because you feel like you didn’t defend me.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but I pressed a finger to his lips to silence him.

“Look at me.” I said sternly. “Im fine. Im safe. Im a little pissed off, granted, cause I would have loved to be the one who punched him in the fucking face myself, except he pinned my hands back…” Nialls eyes shot to my wrists, and I immediately regretted sharing that tid bit. I continued quickly. “But its done. Yes, you weren’t there at the time, but Harry was. Be thankful for that, not mad. Be thankful that you have friends who would go to the mat for you and those you care about without a second thought. And you are here now, and I need you just as badly now as I did then.”

Niall met my eyes, his lips pressed together in a firm line. I could tell he wanted to punch something, preferably Christians face, but he knew it would only upset me further. After a few deep breaths, his eyes dropped to my hand that held his tightly.

There was evident bruising around my wrist from where Christian had held me against the wall. I had always bruised embarrassingly easy, and this was no exception. Niall took my hand gently, turning it over in his own as he examined me.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, eyes still on my skin.

“Not really.”

“Did he do anything else?” he asked, his tone sharp.

“Like what?” I asked, nervously.

“Like, did he hit you? Anything. I want to know what happened.”

Ugh. Why wouldn’t he just let this go.

“Harry told you what happened, Niall. Just let it go.” I begged.

“No,” he argued, his voice still surprisingly even. “Harry just said he attacked you. He wouldn’t tell me anything else.” Niall gave a humorless chuckle. “Really pissed me off that he wouldn’t tell me anything, too, the prat. He said it wasn’t his place.”

I sighed. I knew Niall wouldn’t let this go. He was going to torture himself regardless.

“He pushed me against the wall,” I started, my voice barely audible to my own ears. “And kissed me. I tried to push him away, but he pinned my arms back. I tried to kick him, but I couldn’t get my knee up. I turned to scream, to get away from his mouth, but he only went for my neck instead.” I felt a tear on my cheek and wiped it away quickly before Niall could see. “That’s when Harry showed up.”

Niall was grinding his teeth together, but my hand in his was still being touched with kid gloves. After an agonizingly long moment, he looked up to me. He reached up, brushing my hair back from my shoulder. His eyes scanned my neck, an intake of breath hissing through his teeth. I hadnt noticed anything indicative before, but I also hadnt been looking. My hand flew to my neck, but Niall removed it.

“What?”

“A little bite mark, I think.” He said through gritted teeth. His fingers skimmed the skin gently, and I could feel a slight sting under his touch.

His eyes roamed my face, neck, shoulders. Any part of me he could see. They finally met mine again, and I just couldn’t help myself. I wiggled down into the bed, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him close. I buried my face in his chest, my legs tangling further into his. I was completely enveloped in him. The heat coming from his body in waves warmed my chilled skin. I inhaled deeply, breathing in his scent. He buried his face in my hair, his hands rubbing my back.

We laid like this for a long time, until the heat from his body was too much and I couldn’t breathe. I pulled back, Niall rolling onto his back so I could tuck into the nook of his arm, like we usually did when we slept. Every few seconds he would kiss my hair, his hand still running patterns on my arm.

We didn’t say anything else the rest of the night. We laid in silence, both of us lost in a mixture of each others touch and our own thoughts. Im not sure if either of us really slept that night. If we did, it was a light, restless sleep. I couldn’t seem to relax, the feel of Christian against me still a weight on my mind and body. I buried into Niall deeper, trying to replace the horrible feeling with something good, something comforting. It only half worked.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, light was peaking in under the dark curtains, bathing the room in a pale glow. I looked up to see that Niall was already awake, looking down at me. He grinned, a comfortable, familiar grin, kissing my forehead.

“Morning, beautiful.” He said, his voice raspy.

I buried my face back into his chest. “Morning.” I mumbled.

I felt him laugh against me. “You’re tickling me, babe.”

I reached around to tickle my fingers into his side above his hip bones, the area I knew would get a reaction. His hand shot out and down to still mine quickly.

“Don’t start what you cant finish, babe.” He warned. I looked up to find him glaring at me, a sexy smirk on his face.

He was acting like himself, again. Playful, loving, sexy. I found myself praying that the storm had passed, and that things could just move on. I wanted nothing more than to forget the horrors of the day before.

I narrowed my eyes up at him. “Who says I cant finish it?”

He raised an eyebrow at me menacingly. “Challenge accepted.”

He pounced on me, grabbing both my wrists into one of his large hands, and pinning them above me. I shrieked, wiggling under him as I tried to pull my hands free. He settled himself over me, his weight holding my body firmly against the bed. With his free hand, he slid his finger tips along my jaw, down my neck, across my collarbones and through the valley between my breasts. His eyes followed his fingers, before stopping at the hem of my shirt. He looked back up to me, an evil grin on his face. Leaning down, he kissed me deeply. I kissed him back hungrily, straining to get my hands free so I could touch him. He wouldn’t let me go.

Pulling back, he smiled down at me while his free hand teased the skin just under my top. “I kinda like you like this, babe.” He growled. “All tied up and sexy.”

“I would like it better if I could touch you, too, you know.” I protested, giving my hands a tug to emphasize my point.

He tisked me. “Oh, I think I can make you like it either way.” He laid on me hard, reaching over the edge of the bed. I heard him fumbling with something, his face right beside mine as he kept my hands gripped over my head. His hair tickled my face, and I giggled as I turned away from the soft strands. Finally, he came back up, a purely devilish smile on his lips. I looked at his free hand to see he had his belt. What was he going to do? Whip me?

My eyes widened as he reached up, wrapping the belt around my wrists gently. He was leaning over me, his bare chest right in my face. I lifted my head to kiss his kiss, and heard him groan slightly, his hands quickening. I heard the buckle clinking, a gentle tug, and more clinking. Finally he leaned back, smiling at his handy work.

Somehow, the bastard had tied me to the fucking bed with his belt.

Are you fucking kidding me?

I stared at him wide eyed. He just smiled down at me, the sexiest look I have ever seen sliding across his face. It was a mixture of seduction, intrigue and adventure.

I was in big fucking trouble.

He leaned back to sit on his heels, still perched over one of my legs. He brought his hands up, rubbing them together before pressing them to his lips as his eyes wandered my body. He looked like an evil cartoon character.

“Niall what the fuck are you doing?” I questioned, my voice breaking.

He smiled broadly. He fell forward towards me, his hands catching himself before landing on top of me. He kissed me deeply, teasingly, sliding his tongue into my mouth and exerting his dominance. As he pulled away, I lifted up to follow, only to be denied by my bound hands.

He pressed one more quick kiss to my lips before sitting all the way back.

“I, my love, am going to have a little fun with you.” He purred.

“You tied me up? Are you kidding me?”

He just smirked. “Just go with it, baby.”

With that he leaned back down, kissing me deeply. One hand stroked the side of my face, while the other ran down my side, under the hem of my top, and back up, caressing the skin. I wrapped my one free leg around his hip, making use of the only control I had over him as he kissed his way along my jaw, to the hollow between my collarbones, and across to my shoulder. He seemed to be avoiding the side that held the mark from Christian, and I wondered if that was conscious.

His tongue ran along the dip of my neck, before he blew a gentle breath on the damp skin. I arched my back into him, desperate for more contact. I struggled against the bonds that held my wrists, mentally cursing him. He knew I loved to run my hands through his hair, feel his muscles move in his back, rack my nails across his skin. Binding me to the bed deprived me of all this.

He was a bastard.

His hands moved down, gripping the hem of my top and pushing it up abruptly. It tangled above my breasts, while he kissed down the valley between them. He raised the shirt up over my head, where it knotted over my forearms. I felt awkward, knowing this was probably not the most attractive set up. Niall didn’t seem to care or even notice. He was a man on a mission, as his lips moved across from one breast, licking, biting, and towards the other.

Within minutes I was writhing under him. He made his way down to my navel, running his tongue in circles around it as his hands gripped my rocking hips. I pulled at his belt, the leather biting into my already tender skin. I yelped, Nialls head flying up in concern.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice husky.

I swallowed, then nodded. This earned me a grin, before he set back to work.

He slid down and off the end of the bed, taking my sleep shorts with him. I was now mostly naked, with the exception of the damn tank top. In the dim light, I saw his eyes appraise me while he stood at the end of the bed in just his boxers.

Crawling up me slowly, he growled. “You have NO idea how fucking sexy you look right now.” He said, before laying his body along mine and kissing me. “Its kinda hot, having you at my mercy like this.”

“You,” I gasped between kisses. “are,” kiss, “an evil,” kiss, “man!”

He pulled back to give me a look. “Evil?” he said, cocking his head to the side. “Baby, you aint seen nothing yet.”

He reached up and snatched his pillow from beside me, before he slid down my body until he was perched at the foot of the bed, sitting back on his knees. Leaning forward slightly, he gently tapped my hip, indicating I should raise my pelvis off the bed. I did as I was told, and he slid the pillow under my hips, angling them upwards.

Once I was where he wanted me, he leaned down, kissing the inside of my leg. I knew where he was headed, and moved to close my thighs. His hand flew out to stop me, as he head lifted from its mission. He gripped each knee, his eyes locked on mine. He forced my legs apart, narrowing his gaze at me as he did. He was so fucking sexy I almost came right then.

Giving me a stern look, he set back to work, nipping his way along the inside of my leg. He bypassed my center, working his way down my other leg until he reached my knee. Sitting back comfortably between my legs, he reached a hand towards me. I tensed instinctively, waiting for the contact. A felt a feather light touch slide up my middle, so slow it was agonizing. My lips parted on their own accord, a sigh slipping out. His thumb found my core, moving in tiny circles. I clenched me eyes tightly under his skilled hand. My breathing was erratic, my hands pulling at the fucking belt. My legs went to move together again to stop the onslaught, but Niall just removed his hand from me, gripping my knees tightly as he had before, pressing them apart again.

“You may as well stop doing that, babe,” he warned, his hand going back to work, while the other traced tiny patterns on the inside of my thigh. “cause Im just gonna keep opening you up again.”

I met his eyes, which were blazing blue, a sexy smirk on his face. He was loving this.

He slipping two fingers deep inside me quickly, and I scooted up the bed at the friction. I grabbed me by the ankle, pulling me back down to him, his hand never leaving my center. I arched my back, a strangled moan leaving my lips as he curled his fingers in a come hither gesture. Oh my FUCKING God, how did he do that?

He growled from the foot of the bed. “I fucking love watching you like this, baby. You have NO idea how fucking hot you look right now.”

I couldn’t answer him. I just responded to his touch, the sounds escaping me becoming more incoherent. Finally, his hand stopped, but was quickly replaced with his mouth. He wasted no time in finding my core and sucking hard. I screamed out, shifting my hips away. His hands clamped down on my hips hard, pressing them into the pillow. I squirmed under him, barely able to move between the binds at my hands and his grip on my hips, while he worked me over. He would repeatedly bring me to the edge, only to stop, let me come down, and set at his pace again.

“Fuck, Niall, stop!” I called out, unable to take anymore. “Please.”

He lifted up from me, smiling proudly like a child who had gotten a gold star in class. He kissed his way up my panting body, before finding my mouth. I kissed him back with a frustrated hunger. I pulled his bottom lip into my mouth, biting down on it.

“Ouch!” he cried, pulling back. He brought a hand to his lip, noticing a little bit of blood. “Now, baby, that wasn’t nice. And here I was being so good to you.”

“You are fucking evil!” I groaned at me, struggling to make my point.

“Well, you’ve got the fucking part right.” He said, before entering me quickly and without warning. I shrieked at the pain, my body tightening around him in reflex. He hissed a breath between his teeth.

“Fuck, babe.” He dropped his head to my neck, his breathing immediately erratic. He wasted no time in moving against me, circling his hips in an agonizing motion. The tilt of my hips caused by the pillow gave him a new angle, and every movement was like a fire cracker surging up my body. I wrapped one leg around him, the other struggling to get some kind of hold on the bed beneath me. Niall reached down and gripped my hip, pulling me towards him further, increasing not only the depth, but the friction. I didn’t realize it was possible for him to fill me anymore than he did, but the moment he shifted my hips, in combination with the tilt given by the pillow, a string of profanities left my mouth.

“FUCK! Niall, holy shit!”

He groaned his response, slamming into me at a ridiculous pace. I couldn’t take much more, as I writhed beneath him. I felt like I was going to tear in two, and the feeling was incredible. Niall was usually so gentle. Passionate, damn right, but not dominant like this. This was something else. I pushed the reasons for this new side of him out of my head, and just enjoyed the feelings rising up in my body.

He brought his lips to mine, kissing me awkwardly as he pushed into me over and over. “I love you,” he groaned into my mouth. “I love you so much.”

“I love you.” I panted, kissing him back eagerly.

His fingers dug into the flesh at my hip, and with a final twist of his hips, we both came apart. Im sure everyone on our floor could hear the burst of cuss words and animalistic sounds that came from our room, but neither of us cared. The waves of pleasure rolled through me, subsiding then coming again. I was shaking under him, finally coming down enough to control my body and still myself.

After a few seconds, Niall reached up and released my bound hands. I immediately brought them into his hair, kissing him passionately. He laughed against my lips.

“A little frustrated, are we?” he teased.

“Not anymore.” I grinned, as I held onto him tightly.


	30. Chapter 30

Things, thankfully, seemed to go back to normal after that morning in LA. The final show at the Staples Center concluded without incident, and we were off to Las Vegas.

Now that was interesting. I had never been to Vegas, and the guys were so jazzed that they were even more hyper than usual. Other than their surly moods when reminded the drinking age in the US was 21. That always earned a snort and profanity from Niall. He thought it just wasn’t natural to be able to tour the world, make millions, and not even be allowed to buy a beer at the hotel bar.

Me and a few others who were of age went down to the casinos and had a ball. Niall pouted, of course, choosing to stay in the room with the guys. We would play the slot machines for a short time, then just watch some of the ‘hard cores’, as Cherie called them. At one point we even had bets going on which people were wearing diapers so that they didn’t have to leave their preferred machine. I made about forty bucks on a machine, and was thrilled. I returned to the room, bouncing in happily to find Niall and Liam sitting on the couch watching a random show.

I tossed him a quarter with a wink. “Heres for the good time last night, baby.”

He looked at the quarter, then snorted. “A quarter? Baby, please, you know I did better than that.”

Liam burst out laughing. “Yeah, com’on Dylan. At least give him a dollar.”

Niall punched Liam in the arm as I sat beside him. He peered into the bucket of change I carried.

“Quite a haul there, love.”

I smiled proudly. “Yup. Im taking my baby to dinner tonight. All you can eat!”

He wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively. I groaned, dodging the kiss he tried to give me and pushing at his shoulder. “Don’t be a fucking perv, Niall.”

The two shows in Vegas were followed by another in San Jose, two in Houston, and two in Dallas. We made our way across the United States, each show blending into the next.

By the end of the summer, I had finished my last semester of grad school. I was so relieved I could have cried. No more school! WOOHOO! Niall kept telling everyone who would listen about his brilliant girlfriend. Of course, it was the same people we saw every day, and it got to the point that whenever he would even open his mouth, I would slap my hand over it to shut him up.

He took me out the night after my final paper was submitted to celebrate. We were in Raleigh North Carolina, so he figured sea food was the way to go. We spent the evening talking, eating, and laughing. My meal came on a bed of spaghetti, which he was determined to act out the Lady and the Tramp kiss with. It was so embarrassing, and so adorable.

I would hardly keep my hands off him as we made our way back to the hotel. Finally, he pulled the car over hastily, and I just climbed onto his lap. I reached down, reclined his seat, throwing him down horizontal. It was much more awkward having sex in the drivers seat than either of us planned, but we were resourceful and determined, and it was mind blowing.

A month had passed since the incident in LA, and no one ever brought it up again. Niall and I were closer than ever, and even though I didn’t think it was possible, I loved him more every day. We had discussed him meeting my family when we made it to Michigan the following month, and I had mentioned it to my mother.

“So we finally get to meet the boy who you’re so smitten with?” she said during a phone conversation one afternoon.

I snorted. “Smitten? Mother, no one says that.”

“Well, whatever you call it now, its nice to hear you so happy.”

After the shows in Nashville, we had five days off before meeting up again in Columbus. The guys were all planning on flying home, and despite Nialls multiple requests that I come back to Ireland with him, I stood my ground.

“I want to go home to LA for a bit.” I said, giving him a hard look when he pouted. “I haven’t seen Taylor since…” I trailed off, not waiting to bring up the last time we had been in LA. I quickly continued before Niall got irritable. “I wanna pick up a couple shifts at work.”

“Don’t you want to be with me?” he said, giving me the most sad, adorable face.

“Don’t be like that,” I warned, raising a finger at him. “Don’t even try that pout with me.”

He pouted harder, sticking his bottom lip out.

I just laughed, looking away before he would get his way. He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

“Fine,” he said in a snippy voice. “I will just have to call up my other girlfriends back home to widdle away the time.”

I shot him a glare, before shrugging. “You do what you gotta do, Horan.”

He almost choked, before jumping across the couch and tackling me. “I’ll show you what I gotta do!” 

 

I arrived back in the comfort of my apartment late one evening in early September. Much like the last time I had been home, I discarded my suitcase inside my bedroom door, checked my message (most were from people I didn’t know, much like last time), and rummaged through my empty cupboards. Finally I broke down and called my friend Maui.

“Oh my god, you’re home!” she squealed.

“Yup. Just got in.”

“Finally tore yourself away from your Irishman, eh?” she teased.

“Yeah, I figured I needed to come up for air at some point.”

She laughed.

“You wanna get some dinner?” I asked, falling back to lay on my couch. I stared at my ceiling, the familiarity of my current position surprisingly soothing.

“Of course! There is so much we need to catch up on!”

“Out or in?” I questioned, knowing Maui always wanted to get take out over going to a restaurant. That way we didn’t have to edit what we said, and could be as loud as we wanted. Maui didn’t really have a filter when it came to what she said. She believed filters were for coffee and cigarettes.

She scoffed. “I will bring Thai food. You want your usual?”

“Mmmhmm.” I said, flinging my legs over the back of my couch.

“Okay, Ill be there in about half an hour.”

“See you then.”

I hung up the phone, grabbed a quick shower, and threw on some yoga pants and a sweatshirt. The air had started to cool, even in LA, and I opened several windows in my apartment to let out the stale air. I looked out a few movies I figured we could put on and ignore in the background while we chatted, before curling up on the couch to wait.

My phone buzzed.

Niall: home?

Me: yup. Just got in.

Niall: you know where my blue jersey is?

I snorted. He was such a man.

Me: No idea.

Niall: k. check ur suitcase, I may have left it.

Me: k.

Niall: miss u

Me: miss u 2

A knock at the door interrupted our texting.

Me: gotta go, Mauis here.

Niall: fine, leave me for a chick. Wait, that’s kind of hot….

I burst out laughing.

Me: GOODBYE NIALL!

Niall: love you

Me: love you too

I tossed the phone on the couch, and went over to answer the door. Maui stood there with a huge plastic bag, sagging with food, and an envelope. She handed me the envelope, using her free arm to hug me before coming in and putting the food on the counter.

I smiled at my friend. God I had missed her. Maui was gorgeous, and didn’t have a clue. She was only a little shorter than me, with long black hard, and dark brown eyes. Her dark skin tone, attributed to her Filipino roots, was perfectly clear. She was petite, and always dressed impeccably. Even in jeans and a sweater, she looked ready to walk a runway.

“That was at your door,” she nodded to the envelope as she started unpacking the food.

Once everything was out, she hugged me again, before holding me at arms length.

“Jesus, girl. Six months on the road with sexy boys and you come back looking like this? Fuck. I thought maybe they would have sexified you a little.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Don’t be a bitch. Im comfy. And I don’t need to impress you.”

“You should try.” She teased as she pulled plates from my cupboard.

We had spent hundreds of hours in each others apartments during our undergraduate studies, so both of us were completely comfortable in each others homes. There was no awkwardness of having to ask where stuff was or if we could have a drink. We just did what we would do in our own homes.

We spent the next two hours eating, drinking and laughing. She filled me in on her new job at a medical center, while I gave her all the details of life on the road.

“Well, you’re life is much more exciting than mine,” she said as she took a drink of her wine. “Plus, throw in the fact you have a sexy Irish boy, and I pretty much wanna kill myself now.”

I laughed at her dramatics. “Oh shut up. You have Chris.”

She shrugged. “I guess he will do.”

“How is he? Hows law school?”

“Good,” she nodded, taking another sip of wine. “I will be glad when hes done though. Im tired of putting up with a bitchy student as a boyfriend.”

I snorted. “Whatever, Maui. He put up with YOU for three years.”

“Yes, but I am awesome. He is annoying.” She corrected.

My phone buzzed, breaking up our laughter.

“Ooh, is that the man?” Maui asked, leaning forward to see my phone.

I pushed her away.

“Its Taylor.” I corrected.

“Tell her to come over, it’s a girls night. We need to hate on men and write a song about it.”

“Oh for god sake, Maui, calm yourself.”

I ignored her as I checked my phone.

Taylor: whatcha doin’?

Me: take out with Maui

Taylor: and wine?

Me: of course

Taylor: be there in 10?

Me: yup.

I tossed the phone on the table.

“Shes on her way.”

“That’s my girl!” she whooped, downing the last of her drink before going into the kitchen to pour another. “Hey, you still haven’t opened this.” She called, holding up the envelope. She brought it back with her, her glass now full of wine, tossing it at me while she flopped onto the couch.

I looked at the front. I didn’t recognize the hand writing. All it said was my name.

I slipped my finger under the flap, pulling it open. Reaching in, I slid out the thin page and let my eyes scan it.

All the air rushed from my chest, my eyes widening.

“Whats wrong?” Maui asked, her tone serious for the first time all night. “Dylan?”

I couldn’t answer her. I just stared at the page before throwing it down as if it had burned me.


	31. Chapter 31

I hardly heard Maui calling my name from beside me. I was completely cut off. When her hand touched my shoulder, I jumped, flying off the couch at the contact.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she asked, the glass of wine discarded on the table.

I just shook my head, my hand covering my mouth.

This wasn’t happening.

Maui looked at me, then the offensive page I had dropped to the floor. She bent over to pick it up, turning it over to scan it. Her eyes widened, before they met mine.

“What the fuck is this?” she asked, showing it to me.

I couldn’t look at it. I felt my stomach clench, threatening to bring back up the meal we had just had.

“Dylan, for fuck sake, would you just tell me whats going on?!”

I tried to calm myself. Don’t be so fucking stupid, I scolded. Don’t be a fucking wuss.

I slowly took my seat beside Maui again, still refusing to look at the paper in her hand. I instead looked at her.

I hadnt told her any of the details about the incident the last time I was in LA. That wasn’t something I wanted to think about, yet alone tell anyone. Enough people knew already.

“Its fucking Christian.” I said, my voice harsh.

“The douche you dated in uni?”

I nodded. “I saw him last time I was home. We ran into each other when I was out with Niall and Harry and Taylor, and his little sister loves them, so they invited her to the concert. Unfortunately that meant he came along too.” I shook my head at the unpleasant memory. “Long story short, Christian attacked me back stage.” I heard Maui gasp slightly, but continued. “Harry stopped him, and punched him a good one. He was escorted out as soon as the show was over. I haven’t heard from him since. Harry said if he ever tried to contact me, I would charge him with assault.”

“Wow.” Maui said, staring at me open mouthed.

I nodded. “Of course, Niall freaked the fuck out. Damn near punched a hole in a wall.”

Maui shook her head as she looked back down at the item in her hands. “So this is from him?”

I nodded. “Im certain of it.”

She looked back to the photo in her hands. It was of me, taking earlier that day as I was coming in to my building. I knew it because I was wearing Liams scarf I had stolen before leaving because it was cold. Across the bottom of the picture, in a familiar hand writing, was a single line.

‘Styles isn’t here to save you now’

Reading it again almost made me vomit.

A sudden knock at the door had me out of my seat again in a flash. Maui set the photo down, crossing over to the door. She opened it cautiously, Taylor prancing in, singing at the top of her lungs, swinging bags of chips and another bottle of wine.

“My girlfriends back and we’re gonna get hammered, hey yeah! Hey yeah!....whats wrong?”

Her song and dance was interrupted when she saw the look on my face. When I didn’t answer, she turned to Maui.

“What?”

Maui walked back to the couch, picked up the photo and handed it to Taylor. Setting the wine and chips down, she took the photo and stared at it, her hand coming to her mouth when she read the print.

“Are you fucking serious?” she blurted, her eyes on me. “Was this taken today?”

I nodded.

“Fuck.” She repeated.

“Im assuming Taylor knows about before?” Maui asked, sitting back on the couch.

I nodded again. “She was there.”

Taylor sat in the chair adjacent to the couch, her eyes still on the photo.

“Where did you find it?” she asked.

Maui handed her the envelope. “It was at the door when I got here. We forgot all about it. She only just opened it a minute ago.”

Taylor looked at the envelope, turning it over in her hands. After a moment, she stared at me.

“Dylan, there is no address on this.”

“So?”

“So, that means he delivered it himself.” She looked ill. “He was in your building.”

I felt my stomach twist. “He couldn’t have been. I took my key back when we broke up. It was fucking years ago, Taylor!”

“Well, how else did he get it in here?” she asked calmly.

None of us had an answer for that.

“We need to go to the police about this.” Maui said, looking over at me.

I shook my head.

“DYLAN!” she argued. “Are you fucking retarded. You just got a fucking threat from a guy who attacked you. I don’t see what the problem is here.”

“The problem is Niall. Harry. All of them.” I said, tears stinging the back of my eyes. “I don’t want any of this shit to get out. They have enough shit going on right now without drama from me.”

Taylor scoffed. “Are you serious? Dylan, when Niall finds out…”

“Hes not going to find out, Taylor.” I said sharply.

“Dylan,”

“NO!” I was now shouting. “We are NOT telling Niall. Do you remember the fucking shit fit he had last time? I don’t want him coming over here and tearing the city apart. The last thing I need is Hurricane Horan on a rampage.”

Taylor narrowed her eyes at me, but didn’t argue further.

Maui was the one to break the silence. “So what do we do?”

“We don’t do anything.” I said, trying to sound calmer than I felt. “Hes just trying to scare me. He doesn’t have the balls to actually come after me.” Taylor opened her mouth to protest, but I raised a hand to silence her. “The Staples Center was different, Tay. He had me cornered.”

“So whats to stop him from cornering you again?” Maui countered.

“I know its coming this time.” I answered. “Or at least, the possibility of it.”

“No,” Taylor interrupted, shaking her head violently. “Fuck that. We are not going to just sit back and wait for this fuck to try and get at you again.”

“So what do you want me to do?” I challenged.

“Im going to have Nathan go with you if you go anywhere.”

My eyes widened. “Taylor, NO! Im not having your fucking body guard follow me around.”

“Oh yes you fucking are!” she yelled. “And Im going to stay here with you until you go back to meet the guys on the road again. Its only four more days. If you go somewhere I cant follow, Nathan will.”

I shook my head, but she put up her hand. “This isn’t up for discussion.” She stated firmly.

I huffed, annoyed. I appreciated her concern, but I felt like a child. A body guard? Seriously? Ugh.

“And Im going to tell Harry.” She added quickly.

“NO!” I groaned. “Taylor, no. We aren’t telling Harry either.”

“Why not?” Maui asked, her head whipping back and forth as Taylor and I exchanged shouts.

“Because Harry will tell Niall.” I informed her, glaring at Taylor.

“No he wont.” She countered.

I snorted. “Taylor, Harry couldn’t keep a secret from himself! Let alone any of the guys.”

Maui snorted as I insulted Harry, but Taylor ignored her.

“He wont tell anyone. Trust me. I knows how to keep secrets when they are really important”

I couldn’t help but wonder what secrets he was keeping if what she was saying was true. I shook my head to keep my thoughts on track.

“I don’t want to put him in that kind of position,” I tried to reason with her. “If I

don’t tell Niall, but we tell Harry, then Niall finds out that Harry knew, he will lose it. Again, I point to exhibit Hurricane Horan.”

She knew I had a point there. As much as she hated to admit it.

I quickly continued, while I had her stumped. “I will agree to you hanging out here. And if I fucking have to go anywhere like the ER or something, fine, Nathan can come. But that’s stupid, because we have our own security, but whatever. But that is all I will agree to, okay? I don’t want things to get fucked up over this.”

“I think things are already pretty fucked up, Page.” Maui interjected.

I ignored her, staring Taylor down. She was stubborn, but so was I. My fear had been replaced with determination.

Finally she huffed. “Fine. But I mean it. Im on you like fucking glue for the next four days!”

I snorted. “Somewhere, the guys heads are exploding at the idea of you and I attached together.”

She cracked a smile. “That’s because they are perverts.”

“So are we agreed?” Maui asked, looking between Taylor and I.

We both nodded.

“Good. Cause I wanna play too.” She added. “Im off the next couple days, so I can be on recon.”

I rolled my eyes. “Mau, this isn’t fucking special ops.”

“Who says?” she countered, standing to go over to the window and peak outside. “I need binoculars.”

Taylor snickered, while I just sat back on the couch and ignored her.

Taylor picked up the photo, tearing it up and tossing it into the fireplace in the corner. Flicking a switch, the flames ignited, the photo burning away to ashes within minutes.


	32. Chapter 32

A couple hours later, Maui, Taylor and I were in pajamas, surrounded my empty food containers, and half tanked. We had all agreed on our plan of action, and after Taylor made a quick call to Nathan just to inform him that she may require him to do a little extra side work, to which he had no problem, she and Maui had started ‘operation, get Dylan hammered’. It had been quite a successful mission, thus far.

“You know what I don’t get?” Maui called from her place on the floor by the fireplace. She laid on her stomach, feet on my wall, a spoon full of ice cream hanging out of her mouth.

“How to pull up your fucking pants?” Taylor mocked from the chair she occupied. She was laying across it sideways, one leg over the side, the other flung awkwardly over the back. “I can see your ass crack in those pants.”

Maui just pulled them down, exposing her bum, before pulling them back up and flipping Taylor the finger.

“I don’t get why he fucking cares?” she continued.

“Who?” I asked, not even lifting my head as I laid on the couch.

“Christian.” She said, tossing the spoon back in the melted tub of ice cream. “I mean, he fucking cheated on you. Five fucking years ago. Why does he care to go after you now?”

I shrugged. I had wondered the same thing. He hadnt tried too hard to keep me before, when we had actually been together. Why the hell did he care now?

“Maybe its like a fatal attraction thing?” Taylor said, munching on chips. “He sees you, you look fucking fit, he wants you all over again but you’re with Niall, who is a hell of a lot sexier than him, so hes in a jealous rage or some shit.”

I snorted. “Niall will be pleased to know you think hes sexy.”

Taylor just laughed. “He knows I think its sexy. I pinch his ass when hes not expecting it.”

I looked up to glare at her. “Don’t touch my mans ass, Swift.”

“Then don’t give mine ‘sexy eyes!’” she yelled back.

“What?”

Taylor just laughed. “Harry always says you give him the ‘sexy eyes’. He just likes to think every girl he meets wants him.” She popped more chips in his mouth. “It makes him feel special.”

Maui snorted. “Your boyfriends are more fun than mine.” She whined. “All mine does his talk about litigation and shit.”

“Trade ya.” I smirked. “All mine does it talk about football and flirt like a madman.”

“And sex you like a fucking porn star.” Taylor interjected, causing Maui to choke on her ice cream and me to spill my wine on myself.

“TAYLOR!”

“What?” she shrugged innocently. “You guys are SO not quiet.”

Maui burst out laughing, and I threw an old piece of noodle at Taylor.

The night went on like that until we all fell asleep where we were. The next morning, we all had hangovers, and the mess of my apartment looked much worse than it had through drunken eyes. Maui and Taylor helped me clean up, before Maui ran home to grab a bag of clothes. Taylor had called her assistant, Mary, the night before and had her bring a bag of items over. Apparently, I was going to have two very loud house guests for the next several days.

So much for my relaxing time home.

I called up Brenda, and picked up an eight hour shift for the next evening. They had hired a couple new nurses, so she wasn’t quite as short staffed as she had been the last time I had been home. After much arguing, Taylor agreed that the security at the hospital would be good enough, and that she wouldn’t make Nathan come and baby sit me at work. I was so relieved I almost kissed her.

Maui came back with a huge bag of clothes, tossing them into my small spare bedroom.

“You can sleep with Dylan,” she nodded at Taylor.”

“Why do I have to sleep with Dylan?” she argued, glaring at Maui as she threw the last of the melted ice cream in the garbage.

“Because you guys are all close like that and shit. I just tolerated the bitch to get my through school.”

I threw my dish cloth at Mauis head. “Whore.”

We spent the rest of the morning laying around, nursing our hangovers. Occasionally, Taylor would look out the window, as if she expected to see Christian on the street with a shotgun or something.

By lunch time, we were all bored shitless.

“I gotta get out of here.” I said, standing from the couch to pace. “I feel like Im on house arrest.”

“Then lets go do something. Anything. I cant fucking take this sitting around shit.” Maui said, joining my journey in a circle around the coffee table.

“Wanna just go for a walk? We can walk through the park or something.” Taylor added, following us with her blue eyes.

“Anything, just get me out of this house.” I said, grabbing my phone from the table and sliding it in my pocket.

We walked through the park a few blocks from my house, not really talking. We had been talking non stop for almost 18 hours, so I think we all wanted a little silence. I was tempted to tell them to go on home, that everything was fine and we were probably over reacting, but I knew Taylor would explode. As calm as she was at the moment, she could turn into Mount Vesuvius when she wanted to.

“Im glad I took that self defense course in uni.” Maui blurted out suddenly.

“Why?” Taylor asked.

Maui was watching random guys pass from behind her sunglasses. “Because, I can kick ass. I can probably kick any of these guys asses. I am so ready if that douche canoe comes for ya, Dylan.”

I snorted. “Dude, I took the same course you did, and it didn’t help me too much when he had me pinned to a wall.”

Maui frowned. “Still, I would love to hear the crunch of his balls when my knee made contact. Like bells at Christmas.”

We found a nice big tree, and all settled in under it, laying down to look up at the leaves. It was warmer today than yesterday, the breeze cooling the air around us.

Laying under a tree like this, feeling the warmth on my face, made me think of the day Niall had taken me to the park in Dublin. We hadnt known each other well, then. That was back when he was still trying to pursue me, using Taylors suggestions. The sneaky bitch.

I found myself missing him horribly at that moment. I slipped my phone from my back pocket, sending him a quick text.

Me: thinking of u and missing u bad xx

A few minutes later, my phone rang. I smiled, bringing it to my ear.

“Hey baby.” I answered.

Taylor and Maui both groaned at my name calling.

“They better not have phone sex with us right here.” Maui whispered to Taylor.

She snickered. “I wouldn’t put it past them.”

I swatted at them both, but they were out of reach and I was too lazy to move.

“Hey, love.” My smile widened at the sound of his voice. It had only been a day, but I missed him like crazy. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I lied. “Just missing you.”

“I miss you too, babe.” I heard a wailing cry in the background, and a shuffling as Niall struggled with his phone. “Oh for fuck sake.”

“What?”

“Theo just made a poonami all over the fucking change table.” He groaned, and I heard the baby wail again.

I laughed. “You were a baby once, too, you know.”

“Yeah, but I was fucking adorable. This little stinker is just a messy shit who loves to crap all over his uncle.”

I laughed harder.

“Hang on, babe.” He said, and I could hear that he had put the phone down. I could still hear him talking to Theo, his voice faint.

“Listen here, you little turd,” he said, his voice teasing the tiny baby. “Im trying to talk to my woman, and you are giving me issues. When you’re older, you will understand that boobs are for much better things than you think right now. So work with me here, and I will teach you all that I know.”

“NIALL!” I shouted through the whole, causing Maui and Taylor to look up at me confused. I covered the phone to answer their questioning looks. “Hes being a pervert to his 3 month old nephew. Hes telling him about boobs!”

Taylor burst out laughing, while Maui just looked at me funny.

“What the fuck kind of guy are you dating?” she asked, and I swatted at her again.

“Babe?” Nialls voice came back through the phone.

“You are a sick perv, Niall Horan.” I said, giving him shit.

He just laughed. “So what are you doing?”

“Hanging out in the park with Taylor and Maui.”

“Hmm.” He hummed, clearly busy with the baby I could hear cooing in his arms.

“I will let you go,” I said, adjusting my spot on the ground. “I can tell your arms are full.”

“Id rather them be full of you, but you aren’t here.” He teased. “You wanted to go back home to LA like a wanker instead of coming here with me.”

“Don’t start, Niall.” I warned, still grinning.

“Just sayin’, babe.”

“I will talk to you later, okay?” I said, pulling at grass beneath my hand.

“Okay. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hung up the phone to calls of ‘Ooh’ and ‘awww’ from Maui and Taylor. I sat up to reach them and smack them both hard.

After sitting under the tree for another hour, we stopped at the grocery store to stalk up on necessities for the next few days before heading back to my apartment. I decided to make spaghetti with goat cheese and pecans for dinner, as a somewhat thank you to my two over protective, pain in the ass friends.

Struggling with the bags, we shuffled into my apartment and threw the bags on the counter.

“Fuck, we bought more shit than we are gonna eat in 3 days, you know that right?” Maui said, kicking her shoes off at the door.

“Have you met us?” I challenged, starting to unpack the bags and put stuff away.

It didn’t take long to get everything away, and I started on dinner while Taylor sat on the couch, playing her guitar. She was just strumming randomly, singing the occasional line.

“What are you singing?” Maui asked as she looked out plates from the cupboard.

“Im thinking of writing a song about all this shit.”

I snorted. “Only you.”

“What? ‘douchebag ex’ doesn’t have a nice ring to it?” she questioned with a smirk.

Maui laughed so hard she almost dropped my plates.

I noticed then the light flashing on my answering machine. I reached across the counter, shushing Mauis snorting laugher, to listen to the message.

There was only one.

“See you soon, princess.”


	33. Chapter 33

“You are NOT going to work tomorrow!” Taylor shouted. “And we are telling Niall TONIGHT!”

“Yes, I AM going to work tomorrow,” I countered just as loudly. “And NO we are NOT telling Niall ANYTHING!”

We glared at each other from across the room. Maui had been quiet since the message played, watching silently as Taylor and I began to fight. We didn’t fight often, but when we did, it was serious.

“It isn’t your call, Taylor.” I reminded her, ignoring the dinner bubbling on the stove. “You don’t get to decide what I tell MY boyfriend.”

“Don’t you DARE fucking say something like that to me, Dylan!” she yelled. Maui just quietly walked over and took over my place in the kitchen, trying to save our dinner while I walked into the living room to argue with Taylor in a closer proximity. “You think this is easy on us?” she flung her arm back and forth, pointing at herself and Maui, who just continued to ignore us. “What if something happened to you? Huh? Beside the fact that Niall would go fucking ballistic, how do you think that would make US feel?”

I just glared at her, no response coming to mind other than ineloquent cuss words.

“So don’t tell me it isn’t my call, as if it doesn’t affect me. Or Maui. It affects all of us. Me, her, Harry, Liam, Louis, Zayn, your family. All of us. And especially Niall.” She lowered her voice to make her point. “We love you. We don’t want to see you get hurt.”

I sighed loudly, sitting down hard in the chair. “What do you expect from me, Tay? Seriously? What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to start my calling the police. Just let them know. Just get it on paper or something.” She sat on the couch, her eyes on me the entire time, pleading. “Then I want you to tell Niall.”

“But he will come back here, and freak the fuck out like you know he will.”

“Yeah, he will.” She admitted with a nod. “But at least he will be here to protect you. You have NO idea how much it bothered him that he wasn’t there last time. You have NO fucking idea how much it hurt him that Harry was the one to defend you.”

“He told me” I countered.

“Yeah, but did you see him? Because Harry did. And he told me. He said he has never seen Niall so enraged in his life. He fucking threw a shit around the dressing room like a tornado. He was screaming at Harry, calling him out.” My mouth fell open at this, and Taylor nodded. “Yeah. It was like since he couldn’t hit Christian, he would settle for anyone who had anything to do with that fucking situation.”

My eyes fell to the floor, before being blocked by my hands coming to my face. Ugh. What a fucking mess.

Suddenly Maui was beside my chair, sitting on the arm. “Dylan, please.” She said quietly, the first words she had spoken since the message had played. “Taylor is right. And you know I don’t say that often, because usually, shes a twat.” Taylor flipped Maui off, who ignored her and continued. “But shes right this time.”

I groaned loudly, sitting back in the chair. “I hate you both, you know that, right?”

“No you don’t,” Taylor said, smiling weakly at her victory. “You love us. You’re just mad because you know we are right.”

I huffed loudly in irritation.

The sound of water hitting the burner on the stove interrupted my brooding.

“Shitfuckshit,” Maui shrieked, running back into the kitchen. “Fuck!”

“Do you have ANY idea what you’re doing in there?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.

“Bitch, I fucking save lives for a living, I can make fucking pasta.” She argued, lifting the boiling pot from the stove quickly.

Taylor and I looked at each other doubtfully as Maui cussed in the kitchen. 

 

“Well that was fucking useless.” Maui whined, leaning back into the chair.

“I told you it was pointless.” I said, giving her a look.

“Fuck off,” she said, pulling at her tank top. “How were we supposed to know that the fucking cops couldn’t do anything cause he hadnt actually shown up?”

“That’s fucking ridiculous,” Taylor interjected. “He fucking attacks, you, sends you obvious threats, and they wont do anything?”

“They said because it was a month ago and I never reported it, that there wasn’t much they could do.” I told her. “And right now, its just empty threats. They cant do anything unless me makes a go at me.”

“Fucking useless” Maui said again, flinging lint onto my carpet.

The three of us had had dinner, and after a lot of persuading, I had called the local police. There wasn’t much they could do, thus the current topic of conversation. We sat around my living room, brooding for a long while before Taylor handed me the phone again.

“Now, you call Niall.”

I gave her a glare.

She ignored the look, shoving the phone at me.

“What do I say?” I asked, suddenly terrified. “If I tell him the truth, he will fucking lose it. Can you imagine him on a plane from Ireland to here? That’s a long fucking flight with a pissed off Irishman, you guys.”

“I already called Harry,” Taylor informed me, causing my eyes to widen. “He knows whats going on, and is going to come with Niall to keep him somewhat calm.”

I snorted. “Yeah, because Haz has any chance of keeping Niall calm.”

“Hes better than nothing.”

I sighed loudly, procrastinating the call. I flipped the phone back and forth in my hand.

“Maybe don’t tell him,” Maui added, earning looks from Taylor and I. “Maybe just ask him to come here, and then tell him the whole story when he gets here. That way you avoid the freak out.”

I had to admit that was a good idea. At least it would keep him from terrorizing a plane full of people.

“That would probably be a better idea,” Taylor admitted, reaching for her phone. “I will text Harry and let him know not to say anything.”

“Taylor, as soon as Niall sees Harry coming too, he will know something is up.” I said.

“Not necessarily,” she answered, her fingers flying across the keys of her blackberry. “I will tell him to just say that hes coming to see me.”

I groaned. This sucked so bad.

“Just get it over with, Dylan.” Maui said, giving me a hard look. “Like ripping off a bandaid”

“Fuck that, it hurts just as much either way.” I argued.

“Just get it over with!” she shouted.

“FINE!” I yelled back, dialing Nialls cell number. He picked up on the third ring, his voice groggy.

“Hello?”

“Shit, baby, Im sorry, were you sleeping?”

“No, its fine,” he said, obviously lying. “Whats wrong?”

“Nothings wrong,” I lied. “I just….” I didn’t know how to continue without making him worry. “I miss you. I want you to come here.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Dylan, whats wrong?”

“I told you, nothings wrong. I just don’t like being away from you.” Ugh. I sounded so needy and pathetic. He was never going to buy it.

“You sound weird.” He said, and I could hear him shuffling in his bed.

“You’re just half asleep still,” I gave a forced laugh that sounded fake even to me. Fuck I sucked at this.

“So you want me to come to LA?”

“Yeah. Can you? Please, Niall. Im feeling kind of….meh.” Fuck my life.

He yawned, and I could hear more shuffling. “I guess I could catch a flight out tomorrow. It only gives us a couple days before we have to meet up with the guys again.”

“That’s okay,” I said quickly. “It will be nice to have some real alone time.”

“Cant argue with that,” he said, and I could hear the smirk on his face through the phone. “No more bitching from the tossers that we are too loud in bed.”

I laughed. “Im sure my neighbours would complain, though.”

“Too bad, I don’t have to live with them.”

“I do!”

“Meh.”

I sighed loudly. “So you’ll come?”

“Yeah, babe, I will come.” He said through another yawn. “I will text you tomorrow once I get some flight info, okay?”

“Okay.” I said, relief flooding me. “Harry is coming to see Taylor, too.”

“Okay. Maybe we can find a flight together or something.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Stop saying okay!” I snapped.

“You stop saying okay!”

“Niall!”

“Dylan!”

I laughed. “Just hang up the phone, will you?”

“You first,” he snickered, and I could tell he was enjoying annoying me from thousands of miles away.

“Fine. I love you.”

“I love you too, babe. See you soon.”

I hung up the phone, tossing it on the couch beside me.

“You did good, Page.” Maui said, giving me a nod of approval.

“Yeah,” Taylor added, patting my leg. “Real good. Harry is gonna try and set up a flight with Niall for tomorrow. They should be here some time at night.”

I nodded. “Okay. Then I just have to get through telling Niall the real reason I wanted him to come out here.”

“Tell him after sex,” Maui interjected.

“What?” I snorted. “Why?”

“Because, he will be all sated and happy. So when you piss him off, maybe it wont be so bad.” She seemed pretty sure of her logic. “Plus, if hes really pissed, it might be a while before you get sex again, and by the sounds of it, hes pretty good, so maybe get it while you can.”

“UGH! Maui!” I threw a pillow at her face while Taylor wailed with laughter beside me.

“What?” she said, catching the pillow. “Im just being honest!”

I shook my head. “So they should be here when I get off work tomorrow night at eleven?”

Taylor shot me a look. “You are not going to work!”

“Yes I am, Taylor!” I argued. “I already told Brenda I would, and Im not doing myself any good sitting around here. We already discussed this. Security will even walk me to my fucking car afterwards, okay.”

She glared at me, but finally gave in. “Fine. But you call me the second your shift is over so I can be here with Harry when you tell Niall. It will probably take us both to hold him down.”

Maui raised her hand. “I will help.” She said with a smirk. “Ive seen his picture. Hes hot. I will totally hold that boy down.”

“Maui, do you EVER not think about sex?” I asked.

“Well, during a code I usually don’t. Or when Im putting in a chest tube. But other times, yeah, pretty much.” She nodded.

Ugh. Why was I friends with these people?


	34. Chapter 34

“Code white, main emergency. Code white, main emergency.”

The voice over the paging system echoed through the department, people running. Some towards main, others away. I stood in the doorway of resus, my bag over my shoulder, watching as security made their way into main to deal with the violent patient.

I groaned.

It had been a long fucking eight hours. It was still funny to me, that somehow eight hour shifts felt longer than twelve. It was a thing nurses just couldn’t figure out. A fucked up twist of the theory of relativity.

We had had two traumas, and an overdose, all of which required a swarm of extra nurses from ICU, respiratory therapists, and intensivists to stabilize them. Like I said, it was a long fucking shift.

I leaned against the wall inside the resus room door, and waited.

“What are you waiting for?” Denise asked, her purse over her shoulder. “Lets get out of here before a VSA comes in or something.”

I snickered at her. That was usually how it worked. The moment your shift was ending, if you were in resus, you were guaranteed a trauma, VSA or other debauchery to interrupt your escape before you could give report to the oncoming shift. Thankfully, report had been given, and we were officially free.

Well, Denise was. I had to wait for a member of security to walk me to my car. Unfortunately, some patient had decided to go berserk in main, capturing their attention in droves.

“I am waiting for Kevin to walk me to my car.” I told her.

She gave me a look. “Why? Scared you’ll get attacked.”

If she only knew.

“No, I just parked far and don’t like walking this late at night.” I lied. I was really only parked around the corner. I had let my parking pass go when I knew I would be gone for months, choosing instead to just park on a side street for the rare occasion I was at work.

“Want me to go with you?” she offered, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.

“No, Im good. I will wait for Kevin. But thanks though.”

“No problem.” She said, giving me a hug. “You back soon from your little adventure?”

“Yeah, two more months.” I said, feeling sad. Only two more months, and then it was over. Two more months with Niall, before we didn’t know what would happen. I pushed the thought from my mind quickly.

“Well, Ive miss you. I will see you soon, okay?”

“See you later.” I waved as she made her way down the hall towards the exit.

I waited for a minute before going in to main to see how things were progressing with the violent patient. I groaned. Four security were trying to subdue a massive man, clearly on some kind of stimulant, who was flinging his bleeding intravenous line at anyone who came within reach of him.

“Stay the fuck away from me!” he screamed, swinging at Clint.

“Calm down, man,” Kevin said, looming over him. Kevin was huge. 6 foot 6, and broad. But he was one of the most gentle guys I knew, and the best security we had. His mere size intimidated most people who thought of giving us trouble.

I sighed. This was going to take a while. I checked my watch. It was almost 11:20. I wanted to get out of here. I leaned over and told Diane, the clerk at the desk, to let Kevin know I went to my car on my own and thanks anyways. I quickly sent Taylor a text telling her I was leaving work, before scurrying down the hall and out the doors.

I walked quickly towards my car, my arms crossed protectively over my chest. The air was cool, and I hugged myself tighter. I kept an eye open for any movement around me, picking up my pace as I neared my car.

I pulled my keys out, readying them as I approached. Suddenly, just as I was almost there, a shadow stepped out from between the cars, looming in front of my door.

“Well, hello again, princess.”

I froze in m tracks, my keys clenched in my hand. Christian came into view under a street light, his smile sickening.

“Leave me alone, Christian.” I said, trying to sound tougher than I felt.

“Oh, I don’t think I will be doing that.” He said, leaning against my car casually. “See, the problem is, I kind of want you. Weird, eh? Seeing you before, suddenly I remembered how good I had it with you. Sure, the relationship shit was okay. But the sex.” He made a grumble in this throat that caused bile to rise in mine. “I gotta said, princess, you knew what you were doing.”

“Stay away from me,” I warned, holding my keys between my fingers at a weak attempt at a weapon. “I mean it, Christian.”

He laughed mercilessly. Pushing himself off my car, he took a step towards me. “Im sure once I have a go at you again, this feeling will pass. But unfortunately there is only one way to find out.”

He moved for me then, and I turned to run. I only made it a couple of steps before he grabbed the back of my sweater, pulling me back hard until I fell into him. His hand covered my mouth hard, silencing my scream. I struggled against him as he lifted me off the ground, spinning me around and throwing me onto the grass in the shadows of the parked cars. From where we were, no one would see us.

I pinned me before I could scramble away, flipping me onto my back. I reached up and scratched his face as hard as I could, digging my nails into his cheek. He yelled out, before reaching back and slapping me hard across the face. My head exploded, stars spinning above me at the harsh impact. I had never been hit before, but I suddenly understood what some of my patients had told me. If felt as if your face was going to split open.

His mouth was on mine before I could make a sound. He grabbed my wrists, pulling them over my head as his other hand struggled with my scrub pants. I could tell he wasn’t going to waste any time warming up to it like he had in the wall at the Staples Center.

I was panicking, my mind racing. This couldn’t fucking be happening. What the fuck was happening to me. I had dating this guy. Loved him. Trusted him. What had happened.

“Please,” I whimpered when he pulled his mouth from mine. “What happened to you?”

He laughed mercilessly. “Oh, princess.” He said mocking. “Nothing happened. Now you just know about it.”

I felt like I was going to throw up. I didn’t want to think too hard about what that meant. Maybe it meant that some of the ‘cheating’ hadnt really been reciprocal.

He pulled my scrub pants down partially, reaching in and tearing my underwear away. I cried out as the fabric cut into my skin.

“Shhh,” he said, covering my mouth with his again. “Shut up, princess, or this will get a lot worse for you.”

I felt hot tears stinging my swelling cheek. I moved to kick my legs, trying to force him off me. I dug my feet into the ground and pushed hard. He rolled slightly, but not off, before he pinned me down again. He was much bigger than me, and terrifyingly determined.

I heard the clink of his buckle, and knew it was going for his jeans.

Fuck. Fuck. I had to do something fast.

I struggled to breath under his weight, my lips parting. He moved to slide his tongue into my mouth, and I took the opportunity to bite down, hard. He screamed out, sitting up. I tasted blood.

“You fucking cunt,” he yelled, slapping me hard again across the face. The impact left me dazed, and I couldn’t move. I heard him working at his jeans, but couldn’t move. I forced a strangled scream from swollen mouth, but couldn’t tell if I had actually made any noise through the ringing in my ears.

I felt his weight press me down into the cold, damp earth.

This is it, I thought. Hes going to rape me.

Suddenly, the weight was gone, lifted off me in a swift motion. My eye had already started to swell, and I couldn’t see through the tears that blurred my vision. I could hardly hear from the ringing in my head, but thought I heard yelling before I passed out against the wet grass.


	35. Chapter 35

The first thing I could register was the sound of a heart monitor. The steady, rhythmic beeping was soothing and familiar. The next thing I could sense was the pain. I had never felt this kind of pain before. I felt like my head had split open. And I was freezing.

I moved to open my eyes, but only one would obey me. The other seemed to be swollen shut. I licked my dry lips, feeling a sting and then tasting blood. I had split my lip open again. I groaned.

Suddenly, a familiar face was at my bedside.

“Stay still, Dylan,” George said, his hand coming to my shoulder. “You’re in resus.”

I tried to look around at my surroundings. I was in resus. I was on a stretcher, the ugly blue curtains pulled around the shield me from on lookers. I was covered in two blankets, but was still chilled to the bone. I felt the 02 probe on my finger, and the uncomfortable feeling of being in a hospital gown in such a non-private setting.

I looked up at George, one of my favorite MDs, and shook my head.

“What happened?” I squeaked, pain shooting through my face at the small movement. I winced.

“You were attacked outside.” He told me, pulling up a chair to sit beside me. He looked up at the monitor, checking my rhythm, before continuing. “Kevin came out, saying he was supposed to have walked you to your car, and found some guy on you. He pulled him off, then brought you in here.”

My stomach tightened. “Where is he?”

“The guy?” George asked. “Jail. Kevin dragged him in here by the hair while Clint called the cops.”

I felt a wave of relief, although short lived.

“Did he…?” I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Did he rape me, I thought silently.

“No.” George confirmed with a shake of his head. “Kevin got there before he could get any further.”

I felt tears slide down my cheeks, stinging the flesh. I shook my head, for no real reason.

George stood, running his hand over my head in a paternal gesture, before stepping outside the curtain. I heard some talking, some shuffling, before Nicole stepped in.

“You okay?” she asked, bringing in a small cup of water. She lifted the head of my stretcher slowly, my head spinning as she did so.

“Not really.” I admitted. “I feel fucking stupid.”

“Why?” Nicole asked, confused.

“I was supposed to wait for Kevin,” I admitted, crying in earnest. “If I had just waited…”

“Dylan, its not your fault.” She interrupted quickly. “How were you to know?”

I just shook my head, not wanting to tell her that I did know. Or at least I should have.

Suddenly I heard shouting in the hall outside the resus door. A loud, angry, Irish accent was becoming louder.

“Shes my fucking girlfriend, and I will see her if I want!” he yelled at someone I couldn’t see. Suddenly, the curtain was thrown back, and Niall stood at the end of the stretcher, his eyes widening in shock. His mouth fell open for a moment, before snapping shut in a tight line.

Nicole excused herself, leaving quickly and pulling the curtains shut. Those fucking curtains. We always joked that they were magic curtains, blocking out all sight and sound for each patient encounter. Lord knew I wished they had been soundproof for the freak out that was about to happen in resus bay three.

Silently, Niall came up, standing at my bedside, his hands fisted at his side. He was shaking, the muscles in his arms standing tense. I couldn’t look at him, instead dropping my eyes to the bed. I heard the chair George had earlier vacated slide along the floor, before Nialls hand gripped mine tightly.

“Look at me,” he said, sternly.

I refused.

“Dylan,” he repeated, struggling to keep his voice even. “Look. At. Me.”

I finally turned, meeting his eyes.

I almost cried.

“Im sorry,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

He sighed loudly, his free hand running through his hair.

“You should have told me.” He said firmly. “I had to find out from fucking Harry, tonight, once Taylor got the phone call from one of your coworkers that you had been attacked outside. Then I get here, and they wouldn’t let me see you. It was Taylor who they knew and who got them to let me in.”

I just watched him, unable to speak.

He took a few deep breaths, calming himself. “What happened?”

Ugh. Why did he always want to know the gory details? Why did he always want to know everything I just wanted to forget?

“Dylan!” he shouted when I didn’t answer. “What happened?”

“He was at my car,” I said quietly. “I was supposed to wait for Kevin, but he was dealing with a violent patient, and I didn’t want to wait. I just wanted to get home to you.” I started crying, silent tears sliding down my face. I ignored the burning they caused on my scarred cheeks. “He was at my car. I tried to run. I tried to fight back. But I wasn’t strong enough. He…” I sniffed loudly and indelicately. “He tried to rape me.”

The sharp intake of breath coming from Niall was terrifying. His hand tightened around mine so hard I thought he was going to break the bones.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he spat.

I shook my head. “Kevin stopped him,” I added quickly. “He had come out to my car and pulled him off me before….”

“Where is he?” Niall asked through clenched teeth.

“Jail,” I said. “George said they called the cops and hes in jail.”

I thought this fact would have made Niall happy. Or at least less…twitchy. But it only seemed to make him madder.

“And he had been threatening you?” he asked, his voice strained. “Harry said that you had gotten a letter or something? And a call?”

I nodded, staying silent.

“And you never thought to tell ME about this?” he spat.

“I knew you would lose it,” I said, looking at him quickly. “I knew you would freak.”

“OF COURSE I WOULD FREAK!” He yelled, standing up quickly, the chair falling to the floor with a clatter. “He tried to fucking rape you, Dylan!”

I felt my face crumple, ashamed and terrified.

The curtain opened, and Harry stepped inside. I saw Taylor and Kevin behind him.

“Mate, you need to keep your shit together, yeah?” Harry said calmly. Niall looked like he was about to throw a monitor at Harry, before he quickly continued. “If you cause a problem here, they will make you leave. Girlfriend or not.”

Niall glared at Harry through slitted eyes. Finally he turned to me, his expression not much gentler.

Niall was breathing heavy, his fists so tight his hands were white. I had never seen him so mad, and it scared me. He was always so happy, so calm. He had never really lost it, at least not that I had seen. I suddenly remember what Taylor had said, about Niall throwing things around the dressing room at the Staple Center. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so hard to believe.

He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths, before looking at me again. He came over, leaning down to stroke my hair. He pressed his forehead to mine, his eyes closed. Kissing me quickly on the forehead, he stood.

“I need a few minutes, okay.” He said, holding my hand. “I just need to step out, but I will be back.”

“Don’t go,” I heard myself say before the thought even was registered. “Please, Niall, just stay here with me.”

He seemed to struggle with himself. An internal war, before he shook his head. “I just need a minute, babe. Okay?” He squeezed my hand before quickly leaving the space, pushing the curtain out of his way violently.

Harry moved to come to my bedside, but I stopped him quickly.

“Harry please,” I begged through my tears. “Go with him. Please, before he does something stupid.”

Harry nodded, before quickly leaving to track down Niall. Taylor came in, picking the chair up from the floor to take a seat.

She took my hand, looking me over without a word.

“Go ahead,” I said, looking her in the eyes. “Say it.”

“Say what?” she asked, confused.

I snorted. “Oh com’on. You love saying I told you so. Go ahead.”

She shook her head at me sadly.

“This time, I really don’t want to.”


	36. Chapter 36

Thankfully, I was out of the hospital within a couple of hours. I had no serious damage, other than my swollen cheek, black eye, and cut lip. Apparently I had also dislocated my shoulder when Christian had thrown me to the ground, but it had reduced itself before I had even been brought into the emerg. Still hurt like hell, though.

George checked me over before I was to be discharged, giving me the typical shpiel we gave patients after a head injury. Don’t move too quickly, come back if you start vomiting, blah blah blah. Kevin had come in to see me before I left, and I hugged him as tightly as my pained shoulder would allow. Thanks to him deciding to check on me despite the fact I left without him, he had saved my life. He patted my back gruffly, not comfortable with displays of emotion, before Taylor lead me out of resus and towards the doors.

Niall hadnt come back. And therefore, neither had Harry. Taylor drove my car back to my apartment, silent the entire drive. She had said virtually nothing since coming to my bedside, just holding my hand and looking at me with concern.

Despite all the things racing through my mind, all I could think about was Niall. What was he doing? Where was he? Was he doing something stupid?

Snort. Probably.

Taylor parked my car and helped me up to my apartment. We went directly to my bedroom. I didn’t want to sit out in the living room and try and pretend everything was fine. Taylor helped me change into pajamas, after offering to help me with a quick shower. As much as I knew it would probably make me feel better to wash the grass stains and feeling of his hands off my skin, I just wanted to sleep. It was after two in the morning, and I just wanted to close my eyes and forget everything.

I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow. I don’t remember Taylor even turning off the bedroom light as she left. The feel of my soft sheets and warm bed had me drifting off quickly.

I woke the next morning to the sound of people in the kitchen. The clatter of dishes and muffled voices interrupted my peaceful slumber. I opened my eyes, squinting against the light streaming in. Ugh. If I had thought I was in pain last night, it was nothing compared to now.

I slipped gingerly out of bed, pausing in front of my mirror. My face was still swollen, although not quite as bad as the night before. My one eye was dark with bruising, and my lip was swollen and split. I felt the sting of a cut on my hip from where Christian had ripped my knickers off, and the ache in my shoulder from the dislocation made it difficult to move.

I opened my bedroom door, stepping out into the living room. Taylor was on the couch, her eyes meeting mine as I emerged. Harry was in my kitchen, making a fucking hell of a mess. I quickly assumed he was attempting pancakes, since there was batter all over my counter, his shirt and even in his hair. Normally, I could have made some kind of smart assed comment, or at least laughed at him. But I was too sore and tired.

My eyes fell to Niall, who was sitting in the chair adjacent to Taylor, his blue eyes staring directly at me. I stood at the doorway, frozen for a moment. Finally, he stood, coming up to me slowly, before bringing his hands to my arms. He held me at arms length for a moment, before pulling me into a gentle hug. His hand stroked my hair, his cheek against the side of my head.

Normally, being held in his arms like this would bring me comfort. But suddenly, I was irrationally angry. He said he would come back to the hospital last night, but he never did. He stormed off in a huff, like a fucking mad man. He left me alone (okay, so not ALONE alone, but you know what I mean) to go and nurse his own pride.

Oh yeah. I was pissed.

I pulled away from my, turning to look at Taylor.

“Can you guys give us a second?”

She glanced at Niall, then Harry, before nodding. Harry set his dishcloth down, abandoning his attempts at wiping up the mess he made in my kitchen, to follow Taylor out into the hall.

The moment the door closed behind them, I turned on Niall. Pulling away from him harshly, I glared at him.

He registered my shift in mood just as quickly.

“What?” he asked, bewildered.

I snorted. What a moron.

“What?” I spat back. “You come into the emerg screaming like a maniac, yell at me, then storm out again like a child having a temper tantrum. And you never even came back! You fucking said you would be right back, and you were gone the entire time! Taylor had to drive me home, and help me get into bed.” I laughed humorlessly. “For someone who keeps saying that it is his job to take care of me, you did a pretty shitty job last night, Horan.”

Niall stared at me open mouthed, until he registered my words. Then he glared back at me.

“This coming from the woman who kept the fact her psycho ex was stalking her from me, lied and asked me to come out here because she MISSED ME, then fucking goes walking along the street at night alone and ends up getting attacked?” He snorted. “Glass houses, babe.”

We stood silently, glaring at each other for a long while. The insults and angry racing around in my brain was frantic, and I could tell Niall was the same. I was so angry with him. I had never been so mad.

Finally, I broke down crying.

Fuck. I hated that I cried when I was mad. It just made me look weak, when all I wanted to do was punch him in the face.

His expression softened, and he took a step towards me. I put my hands up to keep him at a distance.

“Im not crying because Im sad!” I shouted, now angry with myself. “Im crying because Im fucking mad.”

Niall stayed where he was, watching me as I brushed the tears from my swollen cheek roughly.

“Ow.” I whined as the friction stung my tender skin.

As if trying to make me madder, Niall chuckled. He cross the space between us, ignoring me when I put my hands up again to ward him off. He pulled me to him, placing a finger under my chin to force me to look at him.

He sighed loudly. “You are the most aggravating, infuriating, stubborn woman I have ever met.”

I frowned at him. “And you are the most jealous, tantrum prone, irritating man I have ever met.” I countered.

He just smiled wider, causing me to frown deeper. I would be damned if his adorable grin would make me break.

He leaned forward, pressing a soft, gentle kiss to the side of my swollen eye.

“Ow” I whined, even though it didn’t really hurt.

Niall laughed, before kissing the corner of my mouth, just next to the split in my lip.

“Ow,” I lied again, just to be difficult.

He used his finger on my chin to angle my head to gain better access to my lips. Pressing his to my own, he kissed me so softly I could barely feel it. When he pulled away, he smiled when I didn’t say ‘ow’.

“Third times a charm?”

I pouted. “No, it just hurts to talk.”

He groan, rolling his eyes.

Leading me by the hand over to the couch, he sat me down, tucking me into his arms. We sat in silence, both of us brooding over our own thoughts for a long while. Finally, I asked the question that had been coming to the forefront of my mind since he had left the department the night before.

“Where did you go last night?” I asked.

He was quiet for a minute, his hand running along my arm.

“The police station.” He admitted, tightening his grip on me when I tensed. “I wanted to make sure that the fuck was in jail where he belonged.”

I pulled away from him, twisting to look at him. “Why cant you ever just trust what people tell you?”

He snorted. “Not when it comes to you.” He said without humor. “I wanted to make sure he was locked up, and make sure that he was going to be charged.”

“Isnt that sort of up to me?” I asked. “I mean, Im the one he went after.”

Niall narrowed his eyes at me. “Yes, but I just wanted to make it perfectly clear that charges were going to be laid. And to make sure that there was going to be a restraining order if for some reason the bastard made bail.”

My eyes widened at the thought. What if he made bail? He would be free to do whatever he wanted. Because lets be honest, and restraining order was just a piece of fucking paper. What was I going to do with that? Give him a paper cut? Pffft.

Niall noticed my expression. “The guy at the desk told me bail was going to be pretty high. Much higher than he could afford. His hearing is tomorrow.”

I waited for a moment, watching Nialls expression, before asking my next question.

“Did you see him?”

Niall grinned, his mouth twisted into a humorless line.

“I wanted to,” he admitted. “I wanted to beat the shit out of him. But they wouldn’t let me near him.”

I couldn’t stop the sigh of relief from slipping out.

“Besides, Harry always spoils my fun.” He groaned. “He told the fucking cops if they let me near the guy, they would have to clear another cell for me. And then another for him, because he would be right there with me.”

I forced a smile, although I knew it looked strained. Gotta love good ol’ Haz.

I shifted down, laying my head against Nialls chest. His arms came around me, holding me securely. I closed my eyes, contented with the steady beat of his heart.

The door opened a few minutes later, Taylor and Harry returning.

“We didn’t hear any screaming or dishes breaking, so assumed it was safe.” Harry said, returning to the kitchen. He frowned as he looked over his ruined meal. “Aw, damn it.”

Taylor ignored him, coming to sit in the chair Niall had vacated. She watched us closely, quietly, trying to judge our moods. Im sure we were a contradiction in signals. Snuggled together on the couch, but both tense and awkward.

“Babe, do I need to use spray on the pan before I put the batter in?” Harry called from the kitchen.

“Yes, Harry.” Taylor rolled her eyes. “Otherwise they stick.”

“Fuck” He pouted. “No wonder I cant get them off the fucking pan!”


	37. Chapter 37

The next couple days were tense to say the least.

First, Taylor and Harry had left later that first day to go and stay at Taylors. Normally, having my apartment to myself and my sexy boyfriend would have been cause for celebration. Unfortunately, since I was swollen, stiff and in pain, the sexy time was not going to happen.

Second, although Niall was being incredibly sweet, and playing the role of the concerned, loving boyfriend to a T, there was still an awkward tension between us. I was still mad that he always threw a tantrum whenever he didn’t like something, and he was furious that I had put myself in harms way and lied to him. We never spoke of it, but we both knew it was there. Despite all the gentle touches and tender kisses, the usual connection and passion was missing.

Third, I had to go to Christians hearing. Now that was not pleasant. I sat on a bench, flanked by Niall and Taylor, as they led Christian in. His eyes found mine immediately. For some reason, I don’t know why, I expected him to look sorry. Or at least afraid. But no. All he did was lock eyes with me, before giving me a grin that made my skin crawl. Nialls hand tightened into a death grip on mine, and I heard Harry cuss quietly under his breath.

The hearing was quick. Bail was set at $100,000. Another hearing would be held in a couple of weeks. God, these things took forever. Just throw him in jail and toss away the key. The judge asked me a couple questions once Christian was removed from the court room. He didn’t challenge my answers, the evident of the attack still on my face.

Harry and Niall were scheduled to go back on the road the following day. Niall was NOT impressed with this plan. I had decided to stay back in LA for an extra week, partly to give myself some time to heal before having to face anyone on the tour, and partly because I just wasn’t ready to pretend that everything was okay. Niall wanted to stay with me, hating the idea of leaving me yet again. But he knew he had to choice. As usual, he pouted, sulking on the couch, arms crossed tightly over his chest when I told him he had to go back, and that I would be fine.

“Between Taylor and Maui, I will be smothered as it is.” I teased, trying to lighten his dark mood.

He just glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, refusing to smile.

I stuck my lip out at him. “Com’on, Niall. I will be fine.”

He glared at me, still refusing to speak. He hated it when I always said I was fine. It drove him crazy.

“Seriously, mate, you can only give her so many sponge baths.” Harry teased from across the room.

I shot him a look, him meeting my glare with an air kiss in my direction.

Our last night together before the guys left early the next morning, I snuggled closely into Nialls side as we laid in bed. The swelling on my cheek was gone, the only evidence remaining being a slight bruise at my eye.

He was propped up slightly on pillows, flicking through the channels on the small TV that sat in the corner of my bedroom. His chest was bare, his sleep pants slung low on his hips as he laid on the bed, his bare feet crossed at his ankles. The indent of his V lines captivated my attention, and my fingers ran absentmindedly along the curve of his hip.

It was our last night together for a while, and despite all the tension and fighting of the last few days, I just wanted to feel close to him again. Feel the passion we usually felt around each other. It was a joke among the team that we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, but these days, it was as if he had shut himself off completely.

I knew it was childish, and probably not the most effective way to feel close to him at the moment, but I didn’t care. My body, and my heart, needed him.

My fingers continued their little adventure across the skin of his lower abs and hip bones, lingering along the indent of his V line. If he was reacting to my touch, he wasn’t showing it. He just stared blankly at the TV, his arm around my shoulders. I placed a soft kiss on his shoulder, shifting slightly to nuzzle into his neck.

“Babe, what are you doing?” he asked, turning to look down at me.

I just continued my exploration of his skin.

“Nothin’,” I lied.

“Doesn’t feel like nothin’,” he said, not making any move to stop me, but also not making any indication to encourage me, either.

My hand ran across his hard stomach, and up his chest, before trailing back down again. I kissed his neck, giving him a little nip.

He hissed in a breath between his teeth.

I smiled into his neck, happy to finally get a reaction.

I pushed myself up to kiss him on the lips. He kissed me back, but I noticed his hesitation. Normally, he met me with eagerness and urgency. Now, it was more a controlled politeness. I kissed him harder, trying to force a reaction.

I dipped down to kiss the dip at the base of his throat, my tongue trailing along his collar bones. I felt his breathing increase slightly, his hands running up and down my back.

I came back up to his lips, and he kissed me back a little more honestly, but still reserved. Finally, I decided to just take matters into my own hands. Sliding my hand down his stomach, I slipped my fingers under the waistband of his sleep pants.

His hand clamped down on my wrist swiftly.

“Babe, no.”

I pulled back to stare at him, wide eyed. He had never stopped me before. Never. Usually, he would be throwing me down onto the bed and ripping my clothes off with his teeth. But never, ever, had he stopped me.

He stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers to soften the rejection.

It didn’t help.

“Im sorry, baby,” He apologize when he saw the hurt on my face. “Im just….” He paused as if trying to think of the right word. Or the right lie “Im just not in the mood.”

What the fuck? Since when? He was ALWAYS in the mood. Always. Usually at the most inappropriate times.

I pulled away from him, lying on my back and crossing my arms over myself like a shield. Tears stung the back of my eyes, but I forced them back. I didn’t want him to see how hurt I was.

He rolled onto his side, hovering over me. His hand cupped my face, but I turned away from him.

“Dylan, Im sorry.” He said, leaning down to kiss me gently. “I just don’t think we should right now.”

I looked at him quickly. “Why?”

He seemed to be struggling with himself, and I had never wanted to be able to read someones mind more than at that moment.

“I just think its too soon.”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine.”

I knew I was being childish. I knew that. But it didn’t make the sting of rejection any less. I felt dirty, as if the thought of touching me after what happened was repulsive to him or something.

I slipped out from under him, scooting off the bed. “Im going to take a shower.” I called, quickly grabbing a clean pair of PJs from the dresser and escaping towards the bathroom. I closed the door, none too gently, throwing my clothes onto the floor and turning the water on as hot as I could handle. I stood under the burning stream for a long while, before quickly washing my hair and scrubbing my skin with some body wash Maui had left me.

I scrubbed my skin raw, my anger fading as I cleansed myself of whatever it was that Niall seemed to think tainted me.

Turning the water off, I pulled back the curtain to find Niall, leaning against the counter, my towel in his hands. He was still shirtless, his sleep pants hanging low on his hips the way I loved. He looked so fucking sexy, I just wanted to throw him down on my bathroom floor and have my way with him.

Instead, I stepped out of the shower, taking the towel he offered, and wrapping it around myself protectively. I stepped up to the counter at his side, ignoring him.

He watched me, his arms crossed over his chest, a slight grin on his face. I applied moisturizer to my face, being extra careful across the areas that were still a little tender. I reached around Niall to grab another towel, and started to dry my hair roughly.

Pulling the towel from my hair, I tossed it aside just as Niall stepped up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my shoulder. I didn’t respond, just watched him in the mirror.

“Im sorry,” he mumbled against my shoulder. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

I didn’t say anything, just waited for him to meet my eyes in the mirror. When he finally did, I sighed.

Without another word, Niall reached over to the counter, taking my hairbrush, and started to run it through my messy, damp hair. I just stood still, watching him in the mirror in front of me, the look of concentration on his face somewhat humerous. He was trying so hard not to pull any tangles, biting his lip. Once my hair was smooth, running down my back, he set the brush back on the counter, turned me to face him, and lifted me up until I was sitting on the countertop. He took the body lotion from beside me, and squirted some into his hands. Rubbing them together, he then ran his hands up my legs, smoothing the lotion into my skin. He took each leg, rubbing the lotion in carefully, before reaching up and releasing the towel from around me. It fell into a heap, leaving me exposed to him. He poured more lotion onto this hands, running them all over my body in an agonizing touch that had me dying to have him.

Once he was satisfied, he came to stand between my legs, leaning forward and kissing me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him back eagerly. His hands were at my waist, but refused to move anywhere else. I linked my ankles together behind him, trapping him against me.

He snickered against my lips. “Easy, now, love,” he whispered, giving me a few tiny kisses before pulling away. He lifted me down from the counter, before slipping my tank top over my head. He leaned down, lifting each foot and placing it in my shorts, before pulling them up.

I frowned at him. “You’re usually pulling my clothes, off, not on.”

He laughed. “Theres a first time for everything.”

We went to bed that night snuggled into each other like we always did, the warmth of his body against mine, the steady rhythm of his heart better than any sleep medication on the market.


	38. Chapter 38

Three days after Niall and Harry went back out on tour, I was going insane. Partly because I was stuck in the house a fair bit more than I was used to, and partly because of Maui.

She had taken on the duty of being my nurse maid since Taylor had to go back in to the studio. Since she had started a job that allowed her a fair bit of ‘work from home’ time, she took advantage of that perk to sit around my apartment and drive me fucking insane.

Anytime I would point out that I didn’t need a babysitter (a statement which usually had a few choice swear words mixed in for emphasis) she would just roll her eyes and say I was just bitter that I didn’t have my sexy little leprechaun there to make me feel better. That would always just make my mood even more sour, but not for the reasons she thought.

I had spoken to Niall many times since he had left. But, just as he had been before leaving, he seemed distant. Withdrawn. And I hated it.

I had mentioned my concern to Taylor, who said she would see if Harry knew what was going on. I was a little tired of dragging poor Harry into my relationship dramas, but Taylor assured me he didn’t mind. He liked feeling included.

I had spoken to my mother, telling her I was sick and taking a break from the road. I didn’t tell her the real reason. I wasn’t telling anyone the real reason. Too many people knew already, as far as I was concerned.

Thankfully, the media hadnt gotten ahold of the incident, and my absence on the tour had only resulted in rumors flying that Niall and I had broken up. Even though I knew they weren’t true, it still bothered me. A couple nights after they left, I was playing around online, and came across a photo of Niall and Louis leaving a club in Atlanta from the day before. It bothered me more than it should have.

I had received flowers from the staff at the hospital, a homemade card from a folded prescription with signatures, well wishes and various items from the ER taped to it. We were a special kind of retarded in that place, but the gesture was appreciated.

On the fourth day after Nialls departure, I was laying on my couch, editing some of the photos I had taken on tour. I decided to print a few for my portfolio, picking out a few of my favorites to keep in a separate folder. I didn’t surprise me that the majority of my favorites were of Niall, but hey, I was partial.

Maui was sitting on the floor, paperwork scattered all over my coffee table and carpet while she worked through a case she was working on. She was expected to set up home care for this patient, but had so little to go on, it was driving her insane.

“What do they fucking expect me to do?” she whined, throwing a piece of paper on the floor. “Read their fucking minds for what this person needs? HELLO! That’s what order sheets are for, dumbfucks!”

I snorted at her rant. “Who lit the fuse on your tampon, this morning?”

She threw her pen at me. “Keep it up, and I will light yours, too!”

I threw her pen back at her, turning back to my computer to scroll through more pictures. I paused when I came across the photo Louis had taken of Niall and I before we had even started dating. I had forgotten all about this picture. Even then, Niall had a way of wrapping himself right around me, his head pressed into my neck. The blue of his eyes caused a shiver across my skin, even on a computer screen.

God I missed him.

Just then, the phone rang. Reaching out to grab it from the table underneath Mauis pile of papers, I looked at the number. I didn’t recognize it.

“Hello?” I said, placing the phone to my ear.

“Is this Dylan Page?” a gruff male voice answered.

“This is.”

“Ms Page, this is officer Mills. I am handling the case you have against Mr West.”

I tensed at the mention of Christian.

“Mmmhmm.” Was all I could say in return.

“Ms Page, I just wanted to let you know, that Mr West made bail this morning.”

I sat up quickly, my computer flying from my lap and falling to the floor.

“Are you kidding me!” I half shrieked into the phone.

“No, ma’am, unfortunately I am not.” The officer continued, his voice even despite my outburst. “His family posted his bail this morning.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening. Although I should have known. Christians grandparents had money. They weren’t millionaires, but they were more than comfortable. I should have seen it coming that they would have bailed him out the moment they found out he was in jail.

Fuck.

“I just wanted to make sure you were aware of this,” officer Mills continued. “Mr Horan made it quite clear that there be a restraining order, which there is. If you have any problems, or if Mr West makes any attempt to contact you, you let us know right away.”

I shook my head as if the man on the other end of the phone could actually see me. Maui just watched me from the floor, a confused look on her face.

“Ms Page?”

“Im here.” I finally said. “Thanks for letting me know.”

I hung up, throwing the phone across the room and onto the far chair.

“FUCK”

“Whats going on?” Maui asked, peeling herself off the floor.

“Christian made bail.”

She stopped half way up, her ass in the air. Finally she righted herself, looking at me with shock.

“Are you fucking kidding?”

I shook my head. “I wish.”

“How can they just let him go?”

“His grandparents, I bet. They probably bailed his sorry ass out.”

Maui groaned, moving the discarded phone to sit in the chair. We were quiet for a while, both brooding, before Maui said quietly “You have to tell Niall.”

“I know.”

She reached to pass me the phone, and I just stared at it.

“Dude, seriously, just do it.” She said, throwing the phone onto the couch beside me.

“This is SO not going to go well.” I said, dialing the familiar number.

“No shit.” She snorted.

Niall picked up on the third ring.

“Hey babe,” he called, sounding the happiest he had in days.

“Hey yourself.” I said, smiling as best I could.

“Hang on,” he said, pulling the phone from his ear. I could hear him shouting in the distance. “Louis, fuck off you twat!”

I laughed. “Having fun with the lads?”

“Hardly,” he scoffed. “Louis keeps trying to put jello down our pants.”

I shook my head. What a tool.

“So whats up?” he asked, the yelling in the background fading. I assumed he was moving away from the antics around hm.

“You may want to sit down.” I said, trying to keep my voice even.

There was a long silence. “Dylan?”

Taking a deep breath, I just blurted it out. “Christian made bail.”

Again, a long silence.

Even longer.

Still silence.

“Niall?”

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” he screamed into the phone, forcing me to pull it abruptly from my ear. I could still hear incoherent yelling from the phone, Mauis eyes wide as she watched me.

I put the phone a little closer to my mouth. “Niall, stop yelling.”

“STOP YELLING? Are you fucking KIDDING ME!?” I could hear him stomping back towards the loud voices that he had tried to escape from. “You are coming here NOW, Dylan, do you understand me.”

“Niall,” I was interrupted before his name was completely passed my lips.

“NO!” he yelled. “NOW! We are not discussing this, do you hear me? You are taking the first flight to Miami you can get.”

“Okay,” I agreed before he could keep ranting. “I will book a flight as soon as I can.”

“Sooner,” he added. I could hear his angry breathing through the phone. Finally, he spoke more softly. “I wont be able to relax until you are here with me, okay? I want you as far away from him as I can get you.”

“We could always go back to Paris,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

“Don’t tempt me, woman.” He warned.

I sighed, realizing that my usually happy go lucky boyfriend had been temporarily replace by a maniac.

“Call me as soon as you have your flight, okay? I will pick you up at the airport.”

“I can get a cab,” he stopped me again before I finished my sentence.

“Dylan!” he growled. “Just do what I ask for once, okay? Please?”

“FINE!” I shouted in frustration.

“FINE!”

“I will call you later.” I said in a huff.

“Okay. Call me back as soon as its booked.”

“Okay.”

We hung up, and I frowned at the phone as if it were the annoying, Irish blonde I so badly wanted to smack right then.

“Well, that went better than I figured,” Maui teased from the chair.

I snorted. “How do you figure?”

“He didn’t crawl through the phone like something out of a horror movie” he said matter of factly.

I laughed. “You are such a tool.”

Maui shrugged, gathering her papers into a pile. “But Im your tool.” She said proudly. “And Im coming with you.”

I shot her a look. “Are you serious?”

“Why not?” she asked, throwing her papers into her bag. “I can do this shit from Miami just as easily as here. Perks of an office job, lady.”

“You don’t have to do that, you know.”

She scoffed. “Are you kidding? Taking a little time to go on the road with a bunch of hot British boys? Im doing this for me just as much as you!”


	39. Chapter 39

The second Niall saw me at the airport in Miami, he crossed the space between us in three long strides, picking me up into his arms, lifting me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his waist, clinging to him tightly. I savored everything about him. The feel of him, the smell of him. Everything.

“Ugh, get a room.” Maui said from somewhere behind me.

“We intend to,” Niall teased, setting me down gently and kissing me. It felt like it used to. No tension, no walls. I prayed the feeling would stay.

We kissed for a long while, until Maui cleared her throat.

“Okay, so, HI!” she said, reaching her hand out towards Niall. “Im Maui.”

Niall laughed, releasing me to shake her hand. “Niall.”

Niall bent over, picking up my bags, and taking Mauis from her, leading us towards the SUV that was waiting outside the doors. We follow behind him, and Maui elbowed me, nodding in his direction.

“Holy fuck!” she mouthed.

I gave her a questioning look.

“Hes hot!” she mouthed silently again.

I laughed out loud. “You said you had seen his picture,” I whispered, trying to keep Niall from hearing our conversation.

“I had,” she nodded, her eyes turning to roam over Niall. “But the real thing….jesus.”

“Maui, hands off.” I teased.

“No promises,” she said, giving me a smile. “Who is to say that he wont need a little private nursing care? Like, in the form of a sexy sponge bath.”

“Im not deaf, ladies,” Niall called from over his shoulder.

Maui and I burst out laughing.

After Niall threw our bags into the back of the SUV, we climbed in and were on our way to the hotel. Mike was driving, giving me a warm smile in the rearview window.

“Good to have you back, Dylan,” he said as he navigated the Florida traffic. “This boy has been hell on wheels since he came back without you.”

“And that is different from any other time, how?” I questioned, earning me a pinch from Niall.

Once at the hotel, Mike helped with our bags. Since Mauis attendance had been rather sudden, she was taking the room that had been reserved for me, and I was staying with Niall. Usually, I still had my own room, since all the hotels for the tour had been booked before we had started dating, so this arrangement worked out fine for everyone.

Mauis room was beside ours, and as she hauled her bags to the door, she looked over at us.

“I don’t want to hear anything that might scar me for life, you understand?” she warned. “If its not me making the noises, I don’t wanna hear ‘em!”

Niall burst out laughing. “Oh this girl is going to get on great with us.”

Inside the comfort of the room, Niall piled my bags beside his, sitting on the bed to pull of his shoes. I came to stand in front of him, pulling his baseball cap of his head, and throwing it to the side, releasing his wild blonde hair. Niall put his hands on my hips, looking up at me with a sexy grin. His thumbs teased the skin at the hem of my jeans.

“So, you feel better now that I am here?” I asked, leaning down to kiss him on the lips.

“Mmmhmm.” He mumbled against me. “Although I would feel even better if I could punch that prick in the face.”

“Niall, stop.” I said quickly. “I don’t want to talk about that, okay? Im here. Hes there. There is security all over the fucking place everywhere you go. There is no way he will get anywhere near me now. And besides, after a while, the excitement of the chase will fade. He will give up.”

He gave me a doubtful look. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”

“Why?”

“Because, every time I see you, I still get the excitement of the chase.”

I laughed. “You already caught me, Horan. It’s not a chase anymore.”

“It can be,” he said, slapping my ass.

I yelped, pulling away from him. He reached out, sliding his hand into the belt of my jeans and pulling me back towards him harshly. I crashed into him, falling onto the bed in a fit of laughter.

He rolled me over quickly, nuzzling my neck.

“UGH!” I shrieked. “Niall, you need to shave! You’re giving me beard burn!”

This only prompted him to rub his stubbly face all over me. I pushed at his shoulders uselessly.

“NIALL!” I screamed, unable to stop laughing. “STOP IT!”

A banging against the wall between our room and Mauis interrupted us.

“What did I tell you two!” we heard her yell.

We both laughed, before Niall jumped up and started banging his hip against the wall.

“Oh yeah!” he yelled towards Mauis room. “That’s it baby, you know how daddy likes it!”

I almost peed myself as the two of them kept banging on the wall trying to piss each other off. Finally, a knock sounded at our door. Niall continued his banging on the wall, so I slid off the bed and answered it to find Harry standing there in sleep pants and an old t-shirt, his hair in wild waves all over his head, his expression sleepy.

“As much as I am glad you’re back, Dylan, would you two please SHUT THE FUCK UP!” he shouted. “Some of us need our beauty sleep!”

Niall stopped pounding on the wall long enough to come up and pull me against him. He gave Harry a smirk. “Don’t be bitter, Haz.”

Harry just flipped Niall the finger before turning and retreating to his room. Closing the door in his wake, I turned in Nialls arms to wrap my own around his neck.

He kissed me deeply, passionately. The kind of way that caused a shiver to roll over my skin and butterflies to rise in my middle. He pulled back slightly, leaning his forehead against mine as the back of his fingers stroked my healed cheek.

“Im never letting you out of my sight again.” He said matter of factly.

I grinned. “What if I have to pee?” I teased.

He gave me an exasperated look. “Jesus Christ, woman. Im trying to be romantic and seductive, and you ruin it with pee.”

I laughed, pulling him back as he tried to pull away. “Sorry, sorry,” I said, kissing him quickly. “Continue with the seduction.”

“Maybe I don’t want to now,” he said, frowning. “You ruined the moment.”

I moved forward until my body was flush against his. Twisting my hands in his hair, I pulled his mouth to mine and kissed him urgently, deeply. He returned the pressure, his arms snaking around my waist. Just to make a point, I pressed my hips forward, grinding into him. He gave a little gasp through his teeth.

“What was that about the moment being ruined?” I whispered against his lips.

“Shhhh,” he said, kissing me again. “Less talk, more kiss.”

He started walking backwards, pulling me in his wake, towards the bed. His knees hit the edge. I broke our contact, giving him a gentle shove until he fell back onto the mattress. He landed with a thud, before tucking his hands behind his head with a grin.

He looked so fucking adorable.

I crawled up him until I was straddling his hips, leaning forward to kiss him again. My hair fell in a curtain around us, and Niall laughed, tucking it behind my ear. His hands lifted the hem of my shirt slightly, skimming the exposed skin. He slid his index fingers under the belt of my jeans, teasing the flesh.

Suddenly, he sat up quickly, forcing me back to sit on his thighs. I would have fallen right off the bed, but his arms wrapped around me before I took a tumble. He leaned me back, half teasingly, threatening to dump me onto the floor.

“Niall, don’t you dare dump me!” I said as I swatted his shoulder.

“Not fucking likely, babe.” He answered, bending down to kiss the hollow of my neck. His hair tickled my face, and I inhaled the smell of his shampoo. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, as his tongue slid across my collarbones. He pulled back, gripping my shirt and pulling it over my head in one swift motion, throwing it away. He fumbled with the clasp on my bra before finally sliding it down my arms. I copied him, freeing him from his shirt as if it offended me.

In a way, it did.

We fell back onto the bed together, our lips meeting hungrily.

We hadnt had sex in weeks, and it had been the longest we had ever gone since we started dating. And now that we were together, we were feeling the urgency. Normally, we took our time, explored each other, teased each other. Tonight, we were just frantic.

I pushed my shoulders, forcing me to rise to my knees as I straddled his hips. His hands made quick work of the button on my jeans, slipping under the material to grasp my ass and slide them down simultaneously. He sat up to force them down further, burying his face in the valley between my breasts.

Flipping me over quickly, he threw me on the bed, sliding down quickly to rid me of my jeans completely. I sat up, hands at his waist band, just as frantically trying to rid him of his pants. Finally I just grabbed the edge of the corner by the button and pulled sharply, the button popping open and fly sliding down at the same time. I slid them off his hips and to the floor, freeing him completely.

He laughed at my urgency.

“In a hurry, babe?” he teased as he reached up and pulled my knickers off.

“Shut up and come here,” I growled, grabbing his hand and pulling him on top of me. He fell towards me, catching himself on his elbow as he laughed. We kissed urgently, and I pushed my hips up to grind into him, urging him to relieve me of the tension building in me.

Agonizingly, he pulled his hips back, refusing the contact. I groaned into his mouth, wrapping my legs around him and using my heels to push him back against me.

His body shook with muffled laugher against my lips.

“As much as I want you, I still love teasing the fuck out of you,” he whispered as he moved his mouth to my ear. Grasping my earlobe, he grazed it with his teeth, giving a tug. My heels dug into him harder.

Quickly, he rolled us over until I was on top of him. He sat up, pushing me back, my legs still wrapped around him. He wiggled slightly, until the backs of his knees found the edge of the bed. His hands gripped my hips, lifting me up slightly, positioning himself. Slowly, he lowered me, filling me, both of us groaning loudly as the frantic need was finally soothed. I slid down until he filled me completely, biting my lip hard as I stretched. We hadnt had sex in a while, and my body needed to accommodate to him again. His fingers dug into my hips, his lips finding any part of me they could; my neck, my shoulder, the base of my throat.

I pushed my hips into him, forcing an animalistic noise from deep in his throat. His hands guiding me as I moved, our hips finding a joined rhythm. He pressed up into me harshly, causing me to call out.

“Oh god, Niall,”

We continued like this at an even pace, the tension in my core rising. As much as I knew he could go for hours, I wasn’t sure I could last for one of our marathon sessions after not being with him for so long.

Quickly, he grasped my butt and stood, causing me to shriek in surprise. I wrapped my arms and legs around him tightly as he walked us across the room and pressed me into the wall. We never broke our intimate contact, and he tilted his hips on an upward angle, using the wall to push into me even deeper.

“HOLY FUCK.” I screamed, my nails racking his shoulders.

“Oh my god, Dylan,” Niall groaned, his face in my neck. “God, Ive missed you.”

He pressed me into the wall over and over, our hips making a banging noise against the surface, both of us calling out over and over. I tried to quiet myself, but it was useless. Niall was doing everything in his power to make sure I was as loud as possible.

His lips found mind as he continued to force me to my edge. His rhythm became uneven, his pounding more frantic. Finally, I groaned loudly into his mouth, panting as I came undone around him.

“Yes,” he moaned, his head falling back. “Com’on, babe,”

I felt myself tighten around him, causing his release in a fury of moans. My legs became weak, unable to support myself around him. Shuffling quickly to the bed before we both fell, Niall tossed us onto the mattress, still connected as we came down from our high.

Breathlessly, we laid on the bed, struggling to regain coherency. After a long while, he looked up at me with a cheeky grin.

“Maybe we should not have sex more often,” he joked. “That was fucking incredible, babe.”

I grabbed a fistful of his blonde hair, giving it a gentle tug. “Don’t even think about it, Horan.”

He snickered. “Yeah you’re right. I couldn’t last that long again if I tried.”


	40. Chapter 40

In the darkness of the hotel room, we both laid in silence, completed sated. I had assumed my usual position, tucked into Nialls side, our legs tangled together while he traced circles on my arm with his index finger. My hand would lightly graze his chest, down his stomach and back up, occasionally tugging on a chest hair just to tick him off.

“Cut it out, babe!” he would scold, giving me a little pinch. “I only have a few and if you pull one out I will be pissed.”

I snuggled in closer, feeling the most relaxed I had in weeks. We were both naked, wrapped up in the sheets of the bed. I loved the feeling of his skin on mine. The warmth of his body radiating through me. If I could only do one thing for the rest of my life, lying in bed with a naked Niall would definitely win out.

OH! Wait, sex. Okay, yeah, sex with Niall would win. Nevermind.

It was nearly three in the morning, but neither of us seemed any closer to sleep. Usually, Niall slept like the dead. It was his favourite thing next to eating. I wondered why he wasn’t asleep yet, the thought fading in and out in mixture with my own reasons for evading rest.

Beyond the fact that the sex had been incredible, I felt relieved. Niall had been distant since the incident with Christian, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t think it was because he viewed me as tainted. The thought crossed my mind more times than I would have liked, contributing to even worse self conscious behavior than I usually exhibited.

Finally, after a lot of silent debating and procrastinating, I decided to ask him.

“Niall?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you a question?” I said, my face still tucked into his side.

He kissed my hair. “Always.”

I paused, trying to figure out the best way to word it. “Promise you wont get mad?”

He stilled, obviously concerned. “That depends on what you’re about to ask?”

“I was just wondering….” Eff, this was harder than I thought. “Why would didn’t want to be with me after….you know.”

He shifted, as if trying to look at me in the dark. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you just seemed so….distant. I don’t know. You hardly touched me. You wouldn’t sleep me with. I just felt like, maybe, you didn’t, I don’t know….”

“Dylan, what are you asking?” he said, his voice even.

I sighed in frustration. “I just felt like you maybe thought of me as tainted or something, after the whole thing with Christian. Like maybe you didn’t want me anymore, because I was broken or something.”

He froze, holding his breath. “Are you serious?”

I nodded against his chest. He pulled away, reaching over to turn on the bedside light. We both squinted against the harsh brightness that flooded the room, as he turned back to me.

“How could you EVER think that?” he asked, slightly angry.

“I told you why,” I countered. “I practically threw myself at you your last night in LA, and you pushed me away.”

He sighed loudly, running a hand through his blonde hair. “Dylan, I told you I was sorry about that.”

“I know you did,” I said. “But you never told me why.”

He looked at me through heavy eyelids, weighing what to say. I felt myself growing more scared the longer he took to speak.

“I just,” he started, running his hand through his hair again. “I didn’t want you to be with me, because of him.”

“What?”

“Ugh. I don’t know how to explain this.” He said, frustrated. “I felt like, if I was with you, that maybe it would freak you out if it was too soon after. Then, when you started to feel me up in bed,” he grinned at me, trying to lighten the tension. “I was scared you were trying to make a point. Like you were doing it just to prove to yourself, me, him, whatever, that you were okay and it didn’t bother you what happened to you.”

I couldn’t help the look of shock and annoyance that came across my face.

“Did you ever think that I NEEDED you?” I asked, glaring at him. “That maybe being with you was the one thing that would make me feel NORMAL again? That being with you was the one thing that actually made me feel SAFE again?”

He just stared at me, for once at a loss for words.

“Niall, I am not okay. I was almost raped,” His jaw clenched at my words, and I quickly continued. “But I will be okay. Being here with you, makes me okay. BEING with you tonight, makes me okay. Pushing me away because YOU think its what I need doesn’t help. It only made me feel dirty and unwanted.”

I didn’t want to make him feel badly, but my words came out harsher than I intended. But they were still true.

Niall reached over and cupped my face with his hand. “I am so sorry.” He said, leaning forward to kiss me. “I just didn’t know how to handle it. I didn’t know how to give you what you needed. I have never loved anyone the way I love you, Dylan. You have NO idea how I felt when I heard what happened. I felt like my stomach had been ripped out. All I could think about was getting to you. Then, when I saw you, all I could think about was beating the living shit out of him. I wanted to kill him. More than I ever wanted anything in my life. I know I wasn’t there for you like I should have been, and Im sorry. I will spend forever making that up to you.”

A felt a warm tear slide silently down my cheek. “I thought maybe you didn’t want me anymore.”

Niall gave a harsh laugh. “Are you kidding?” He slid closer, pressing his forehead to mine. He captured my gaze, his blue eyes making me weak. “Dylan, Im going to marry you one day.”

I took a sharp breath in, my heart stuttering.

Niall laughed. “Don’t worry, babe, that wasn’t a proposal.” He gave me a quick kiss before pulling back. “I was just stating a fact. When I propose, it will be much more romantic than in bed after sex.”

I couldn’t stop my heart from hammering in my chest, my eyes wide. I tried to regain my composure, but it wasn’t working out too well for me.

Niall laughed again. “Did I just freak you out?”

I swallowed loudly. “A little.” I admitted.

“Wouldn’t you want to marry me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

“No,” I said quickly, noticing his face drop a little. “No! I mean, yes, I would! You just….”

“Freaked you out.” He said with a smile.

“UGH!” I groaned, punching him in the arm. “God you irritate me.”

Niall laughed again, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me against him. “Ah, the perfect proposal. Getting turned down, then punched. That is how I roll, baby.” 

 

We woke late the next morning, both of us tired and a little grumpy from lack of sleep. I had no idea what time we finally fell asleep, but it was really late. Or really early, depending on how you looked at it.

Coming into the dining room of the hotel, most of our group was already there. I entered to a chorus of hellos, everyone greeting me, some hugging me, welcoming me back.

I sat next to Maui, who had already injected herself into the group with ease. She turned on me the moment I sat down.

“YOU!” she shouted, pointing a finger at my face. “And YOU!” she added, giving Niall the same treatment on the other side of me. “Are assholes! What did you do? Fuck against my wall or something?”

“Right we did.” Niall said, reaching across to grab a platter of pancakes.

“NIALL!” I yelled, slapping his arm, causing him to drop a pancake into a bowl of cheerios.

“Shit, babe, you made me drop my food!” he whined, ignoring my annoyance and the snickers from everyone around us.

I shot him a dirty look, before turning back to Maui. She was not impressed.

“Next time you do something like that, Im coming in there and turning the hose on you!” she threatened.

“Don’t come in unless you are planning to join,” Niall taunted, pouring syrup over his pancakes.

“NIALL!” I shouted again, smacking his arm causing him to spill syrup on his lap.

“Jesus Christ, woman!” he whined, dropping the syrup and trying to wipe up his lap.

“Need some help over there, Nialler?” Louis teased from across the table.

“Fuck off, twat.” He said, flipping Louis off.

Breakfast continued without anymore incidents, or anymore dirty comments. Maui had already been introduced to everyone in the group, and was already sparring with Louis on who could be the dirtiest minded. So far, Maui was winning.

The guys had one more show in Miami before we leaded off to Fort Lauderdale that night. Maui was excited, having never seen them in concert before. Her and I went out shopping while the guys went to the venue mid morning, with Mike in tow at the insistence of Niall. He was still anxious at the thought that Christian was out on bail, regardless of how many times I assured him that there was no way he would travel across the country just to get to me. I wasn’t that important.

We enjoyed our shopping trip, even making Mike blush when we came out of Victoria Secret loaded down with bags. He had refused to come into the store, choosing instead to stand outside looking sullen. After dropping our loot off at the hotel, we met the guys at the venue just before dinner.

“So how was shopping?” Niall asked, giving me a quick kiss.

“Good.” I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “We may have stopped at Victorias Secret.”

His eyes widened.

“WHAT WAS THAT?” Louis yelled from across the room.

Maui interrupted before I could answer to tell him to mind his own business. “WE WENT TO VICTORIAS SECRET!” she yelled just as loud. “WE GOT SOME KINKY SHIT, TOO!”

Louis’s eyes widened, while Liam, Harry and Zayn burst out laughing.

“God, I fucking love this girl.” Harry said, sliding an arm over Mauis shoulder to pull her into him.

“Watch the hands, there, Styles.” She warned.

He just wiggled his eyebrows. “Worried about Taylor?”

Maui snorted. “No. I mean watch your hands, my shoulder isn’t my turn on spot. Aim lower.”

Liam fell off the couch laughing at the expression on Harrys face.

After a quick meal with the team, the guys were getting jazzed for the show. Maui enjoyed watching them in hair and makeup, making snide remarks about how pale Louis looked and how he needed more bronzer.

An hour into the show, Maui was officially fan girling all over the place. It was embarrassing.

“Would you PLEASE calm down,” I begged, pulling her arm so she would sit the fuck down. “You’re embarrassing me!”

She swatted my hand away, jumping up and down. “Louis I love your bum!”

She laughed at the expression on Louis face, who had obviously heard her, before sitting down beside me. “Teasing that boy is more fun than Disney Land.”

I rolled my eyes. “Just remember, he has a girlfriend, you have a boyfriend.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Whatever, its harmless fun. How can you not wanna just tear at these boys?” she said, watching as Harry jumped his way across the stage. “Seriously, I think I have lady-wood right now.”

“UGH! MAUI!”

She laughed, clearly proud of herself, before jumping up again to shout more embarrassing remarks at the guys.


	41. Chapter 41

We finished in Miami, and headed off to Fort Lauderdale for a couple of shows before trekking North. Maui stayed with the tour until we were finished in Fort Lauderdale, deciding it was time to go back to the real world.

“Although, your real world is much more fun than mine. Yours has sexy British boys and a fine assed Irishman. Mine has old, confused people and urinary tract issues.” She whined as she tossed her bag into the trunk of the cab.

I laughed at her. “The guys are gonna miss you,” I said, giving her a hug. “I don’t think Louis has ever met anyone who could challenge him in the smart ass department as good as you.”

“Ah, and I will miss his cute little bum. Seriously. The boys got a great ass.” She said, looking at me with such a serious expression I almost died laughing.

She hugged me tightly for a third time, before pulled back to look at me seriously. “You be careful, okay?”

I rolled my eyes. “God, now you sound like Niall.”

She gave me a glare. “Im serious. Just don’t take any chances, okay?”

I snorted. “If I didn’t take chances, I wouldn’t have taken this job. Or started dating Niall. So far, taking chances has worked out pretty good.”

Maui slapped my arm. “You know what I mean. Just don’t give Niall too hard of a time, okay. I know hes an overprotective, sexy, pain in the ass, but he loves you. Its nice to see you with someone who actually deserves you and realizes how good he has it.”

“Fine. I will try not to give Niall too hard of a time.” I agreed. “But hes getting a little out of control, don’t you think?”

Maui just shrugged. “Until Christian is back in jail, Im going to go with no.”

I shook my head at her.

Since our arrival in Miami, Niall had hardly left my side. And when he couldn’t me with me, he made sure Maui was, along with Mike. Somehow, Mike had become my personal bodyguard, much to my annoyance. I told him he didn’t have to follow me around, and that Im sure he had better things to do, but he just said “I would rather follow you around than listen to Niall. Plus, at least Im not having to follow Harry around. The kids on my last nerve since he put blue dye in my shampoo last week.”

With a final hug goodbye, Maui was on her way home. She promised to let me know if she heard anything more about Christian, and that she would check my apartment occasionally to make sure all was in order.

We were scheduled to head up to Michigan for a few shows in the Northern states after having three days off. This was the time that Niall was supposed to be coming to meet my family. Admittedly, I was nervous. I hadnt brought a guy home to meet my family since I still lived at home. They had never met Christian, and I was glad of that fact now.

I returned to our floor of the hotel to find various people piling their luggage in the hall, everyone shouting, trying to get organized. I shook my head at the chaos that always seemed to ensue around the time we had a break, and no matter how many times we did this, everyone was always a little disorganized.

I escaped in to the confines of my room to find Niall on the bed, freshly showered, in a pair of khakis and a t-shirt. He was sitting cross legged, guitar in his lap, playing a song I didn’t recognize. I climbed onto the foot of the bed, tucking my feet beneath me and just listened to him. I loved listening to him play, sometimes just laying back and closing my eyes as the music surrounded me.

He looked up, giving me a wink, before returning his attention to the guitar. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that he was packed and ready to go. I was surprised. He was usually one of the last ones ready. Him and Harry were always the worst.

“You’re packed.”

“You’re surprised.” He answered with a smirk.

“Well….yeah. You’re always the last one ready. Unless Haz cant shut his suitcase.”

“Well, I wanted to make sure I was all set to meet your family. I made sure all my shit was together so I didn’t have to start out stressed.” He teased.

“So you aren’t stressed at just the thought of meeting them?” I teased back.

He shrugged. “A little. But Im sure I can win them over. Hell, I charmed the pants off you, didn’t I?”

“Frequently.”

He laughed, setting the guitar aside and reaching over to drag me over to him. He kissed me sweetly, tapping my nose with a finger tip.

“I only have 2 days to get them to love me,” he said matter of factly. “I don’t want them thinking their daughter is dating some crazed musician with tattoos and piercings.”

I rolled my eyes. “You seem awfully sure of yourself, Horan.”

He grinned. “I am.”

“Well, I will give you a tip now. Its my gran you have to win over. Shes the most important person in the world to me, next to you, so if you don’t get her approval….” I tisked and shrugged, leaving the rest to his imagination.

Niall laughed. “Oh Im sure it wont be a problem.” 

 

“He’s such a handsome thing, isn’t he?” my gran cooed from across the living room. “And here when I heard she was dating a musician, I thought he would be all covered in tattoos like the young people now days like.”

Niall turned to give me a proud grin.

I wanted to smack him.

We had arrived to my mothers just over an hour and a half ago. My gran, aunt, and aunts boyfriend were all there, anxious to meet the guy who had stolen my heart. He had turned on the Irish charm the moment we stepped in the door, helping my mother with lunch, talking football with my aunts boyfriend, and being polite as punch to my gran.

She was eating him up.

“Don’t say things like that, gran,” I scolded from my place beside Niall on a tiny love seat. “It will go right to his head.”

She tisked. “So it should. Nice young man like this. You me nice to him, dolly, hes a good one.”

Niall put his arm around me, whispering in my ear.

“Told ya….charming the pants of her.”

I pinched his side at his inappropriate comment.

My family asked Niall so many questions I was worried he would think he was part of the Spanish Inquisition….or yet another endless interview. But he took it all in stride, answering whatever they asked with ease.

My mother excused herself to go clean up the kitchen, Niall rising from his seat.

“I can help you,” he offered.

“Oh, no, you stay there Niall. You’re company.” She turned to me. “Dylan, you get in here and help me.”

I rolled my eyes, giving Niall a quick glare as I stood to follow my mother into the kitchen. She handed me a dish towel, turning on the water to fill the sink for dishes.

“So,” she asked, leadingly.

“So….?”

“You like him.” She said, stating a fact more than asking a question.

“I do.” I agreed, unable to keep the smile from my face. “A lot.”

“He seems to really care for you,” she said, placing dishes into the sink. “Its funny to watch him.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at her statement. “How so?”

My mother shrugged, as if she wasn’t sure how to explain her observation. “Just the way he is with you. More than just attentive. More like, protective. You move, he moves. You leave a room, he isn’t far behind. And the way he looks at you. Like his world revolves around you.”

I felt myself blush at her words, taking the dishes she handed me and drying them silently.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Dylan.” She said, noticing my blush. “Its sweet. Its nice to see that you’ve found someone you cares that deeply.”

Again, I stayed silent, busying myself with the dishes.

“You’re the same.” She added, filling in the silence. “I have never seen you this way with anyone. Every time you look at him, you light up, even if you don’t realize it.”

I looked up to her, still embarrassed by the observations she had made in such a short time. I honestly hadnt realized that we were like that. Sure, the whole young love thing, but she made it sound so much more……something.

My mother laughed. “And gran loves him,” she said, tossing in the cutlery. “If you don’t watch it, she may try and steal him for herself.”

I finally broke my silence with a laugh. “And I warned him that she would be the one he would have to win over if he wanted to keep me.”

My mother turned, giving me a stead fast look. Locking eyes, she smiled.

“Oh honey….he’s keeping you.”


	42. Chapter 42

I felt my body stretch, experiencing a welcome discomfort. It felt like forever since I had done this, felt this good, and I honestly couldn’t imagine why I didn’t just do this all the time.

I locked eyes with Liam, seeing the expression on his face as he experienced the same feeling.

“You need to go deeper, Liam,” I said, twisting my body to give him a better view. “It feels so good.”

He groaned deeply in the back of his throat, gritting his teeth. “I don’t know if I can last much longer.”

“Don’t be a wuss, Payno!” I challenged. “You said you would do it with me because Niall wasn’t in the mood!”

“I know, but I didn’t realize it would be like this!” he countered, almost faltering.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and letting myself feel the deep stretch in my core. I concentrated on my breathing, trying to keep it even to allow myself to relax in the awkward position.

Suddenly, the door flew open, Niall barging in. He froze at the foot of the bed, his eyes wide. His mouth fell open slightly as he stared at Liam and I in our rather compromised position.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

I took a final deep breath, letting myself go, before straightening up.

“You said you didn’t want to do yoga with me. So I found a replacement.” I said, nodding my head to Liam, who was contorted on the floor looking pained.

“Mate, seriously, don’t ever let me agree to this again. I think I pulled something.” He whined as he struggled to get out of his position. All he succeeded in was falling over.

I shot him a look, before looking back to Niall. “Whats up?”

Niall took a moment to wipe the smirk off his face at the expression on Liams, before seeming to remember why he had barged into my hotel room. Pointing an accusing finger at me, he glared.

“YOU!” he said sternly, “are in BIG shit!”

I widened my eyes at me. “Me? Why?”

“Look at this text I just got from Taylor,” he said, handing me his phone.

I scanned the screen, my eyes closing as if in pain. I was going to fucking kill her.

Taylor: so what are you getting Dylan for her birthday next week?

“Ugh.” I groaned, dropping my head.

“Don’t you ‘ugh’ me!” he shouted, pretending to be stern. “Your birthday is next week and I find out from fucking Taylor?”

“Its not a big deal, Niall,” I said, reaching down to pry Liam off the floor. “I hate birthdays. I prefer to just ignore it.”

He scoffed. “No fucking likely, love. You cant ignore it when you’re dating me.” He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Liam flopped onto the couch, rubbing his lower back. “Why didn’t you tell us it was your birthday?”

“Because, I don’t do the whole ‘birthday’ thing. I haven’t since I was little. Im happy with just a take out dinner and movies. That’s what Taylor and I usually do, even though she bitches about it every year.” I sat on the couch next to Liam, ignoring Nialls pouty look.

“Well, not this year, babe.” He said, coming to kneel in front of me. “We are going all out!”

“UGH! Niall, no, please. I hate my birthday.” He whined, giving him my best pleading look.

“Why?”

“Because,” I said, flopping back onto the couch. “I hate being the center of attention like that.”

Niall shuffled closer, wedging himself to kneel between my legs, his elbows on my thighs. “Com’on, babe. Just one day. Let me spoil you.”

“You do every day,” he grinned, leaning forward to kiss him.

Liam groaned beside me. “Okay, if you guys are gonna start snogging, Im out of here.”

I pulled away from Niall to flick at Liam.

“One day,” Niall said again, trying to regain my attention. “Just one day where its all about you.”

I sighed in defeat. “Do I have a choice in this?”

Niall scrunched his face as if in deep contemplation before smiling widely at me. “Nope.”

“Ugh. Fine.”

Niall jumped up to kiss my forehead. “That’s my girl!” 

 

The morning of my birthday, the first thing I noticed was the incredibly overwhelming sweet smell of flowers. Before I had even opened my eyes, the scent claimed me. I sat up slowly, squinting the sleep from my eyes to look around the room.

Every possible surface was covered in flowers. Roses, hydrangeas, lilies, daisies…every flower that you could ever think of scattered in vases all over the room.

How had he even done that while I was sleeping? He was NOT the most quiet person in the world.

I found myself smiling uncontrollably as I slid out of bed, walking around the room to take in all the flowers. I heard my phone buzz on the night stand, and scurried to answer it.

Taylor: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Me: Thanks. You should see my hotel room. Its full of fucking flowers.

Taylor: aw. Wish I could see.

A knock at the door interrupted my texting. I practically skipped to the door, flinging it open expecting to find Niall standing there proudly.

Instead, I found Taylor, standing there proudly.

“OH MY GOD!” I screamed, launching myself at her.

“Surprise!”

“You sneaky bitch!” I scolded, pulling her into my room. Her eyes widened at the embarrassing display of flowers.

“Jesus, he sure doesn’t do anything half way, does he?” she noted, leaning down to smell a large bouquet of roses.

I laughed, suddenly so excited. I had only been awake for five minutes and this was already the best birthday ever.

“When did you get here?” I asked as she tossed her small duffle bag on the floor.

“Just now. Figured I would surprise you. Besides, when Niall said he was throwing you a party, there was NO way I was going to miss that. Its about time we did this shit right, and not with Chinese take out and a horror movie marathon.”

I rolled my eyes. “I like that! This whole party thing is just Niall. Any excuse to have a party.”

Taylor snorted. “Or any excuse to spoil you.”

Looking around the room, I smirked. “Touche.”

“So what are the plans for today?” she asked, plopping down on the couch.

“No idea,” I admitted. “I know Niall is throwing some embarrassing party tonight, but other than that, I have no idea.”

“Well you do now.” She said proudly. “I am taking you for lunch and a spa day!”

“Really? You don’t have to do that.” I protested automatically.

“Don’t start! We are doing this right! Im so excited I might pee myself.” She exclaimed, clapping her hands.

Another knock at my door interrupted my eye rolling. Pulling it open, I found Niall, looking adorable in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, smiling proudly. I jumped at him, throwing my arms around his neck. There must have been a few people in the hallway, because cat calls and hollering for us to ‘get a room’ sounded around us.

I pulled him into my room quickly, slamming the door behind us.

“Good morning to you too, beautiful.” He teased, pulling me towards him again and kissing me passionately. I curved myself into him, my hands in his hair. We kissed like this for a long moment, before an uncomfortably cough sounded behind us.

“Um, hello?” Taylor called.

Niall pulled away, looking over his shoulder at her. “Oh. Hey Taylor.”

“Hey yourself, Nialler.” She smirked.

Niall turned back to me, grinning. “So, how has your morning been so far?” he teased.

“Other than waking up to a rather embarrassing display of flowers all over my room, its been quite nice, thank you.” I gave him another kiss on the lips. “How did you even do this? You are not a quiet person, Niall.”

“I had Zayn help me.” He admitted. “I passed them in, he set them around.”

My eyes flew open. “Zayn was in here while I was sleeping? Niall!”

“What? Its not like he peaked at you or anything.” He teased.

I swatted him, before pulling away to sit on the bed.

“So what other escapades do you have for me today?” I asked.

He just grinned, staying silent.

“Com’on, Niall. You know I don’t like surprises.” I pressed, giving him a look.

“You will like these, I promise.”

“These? As in, plural?”

He nodded, again staying silent.

“Ugh.”

Taylor jumped in then. “Do you have anything planned for her over lunch and early afternoon?”

Niall pondered for a moment. “Nope, not until dinner time.”

“Good, shes all mine then. We are doing lunch and spa day.”

“Okay. “ Niall agreed. “Just make sure shes back before four. I have reservations at six.”

“Um, hello?” I interjected, raising a hand to remind them I was still in the room. “I am still here you know.”

“I know, baby.” Niall said, shooting me a wink. “We are just coordinating.”

Taylor ignored my whine. “Okay, so I will have her back by four. Anything else I need to be aware of?”

“I will text you the info.” Niall said with a nod.

“UGH! You guys! HELLO!?” I whined, throwing a pillow at Niall, who caught it easily as he laughed.

“Calm yourself, love.” He said, crawling on the bed to kiss me. “All will be revealed in due time.”


	43. Chapter 43

I sighed deeply, letting each muscle relax independently. The warm scent of oils and smoothing music drifted around me, my senses all slowly falling. This was heaven.

Taylor had taken me to some fancy day spa in Seattle, where we were going to spend the majority of the day. The moment we walked in, I could feel the opulence. I gave her a look, about to tell her this was too expensive, but she shot me a glare, silencing me before I had even opened my mouth.

It wasn’t like she didn’t have the money. Lets me honest. But I didn’t like her spending it on me. That’s not what friendship was, as far as I was concerned. The most I had ever let her spend was a fancy dinner one night after I graduating nursing school.

The late morning was spent in the hot tub, before we had a nice light lunch. We wandered around in big fluffy robes and slippers, being pampered everywhere we went. After lunch was the massage I was currently enjoying. This woman sure knew was she was doing. It was as if she had a map of all the tense spots on my body, her skilled hands kneading away the knots. I seriously could have laid here forever.

Once the massage was, unfortunately, over, Taylor and I enjoyed facials, and finally, manicures. We caught up on everything that emails and texts just couldn’t covey while we were pampered from head to toe.

She told me she hadnt heard anything more about Christian, even though she had been keeping her ears open. So far, she had to assume he was laying low.

“Maybe he finally got the hint and is going to give up.” I said, hopefully.

Taylor shrugged, unconvinced. “I don’t know. I hope so, mind you. But if he took such a chance in the first place coming after you at work,” I shot a look to the lady bent over my hand as she filed my nails, reminding Taylor to keep her voice down. She continued, her voice lower. “I don’t know if he would just let this all go.”

I sighed, frustrated. What the fuck was his problem? He didn’t even want me when he had me? What was the difference now? Just because he couldn’t have me? Because I was with Niall? This was just so frustrating, and scary.

“So far I haven’t heard anything else. Officer Mills hasn’t contacted me, so Im assuming no news is good news.” I told her, adjusting my seat.

“Hope so,” she said again, examining her nails. “At least there is no way hes going to get anywhere near you while youre on the road.”

I nodded, agreeing. With the amount of security around the guys on any given day, it would be impossible for Christian to get anywhere near me. Plus, Niall rarely let me out of his sight, and he would blow a fucking gasket if he even thought he saw Christian.

By mid afternoon, it was time to leave the spa. We were both thoroughly fluffed and relaxed, heading back to the hotel in a daze. I really wanted to take a nap, I told her, but she reminded me quickly that Niall had ‘reservations’ at six.

Taylor helped me with my hair and makeup, before I slipped into a black lace dress that I had bought when in Miami shopping with Maui a few weeks prior. Sliding into a pair of black pumps, I turned to Taylor.

“Wow,” he said, clapping her hands together excitedly. “You look amazing!”

I shuffled awkwardly, still not comfortable with compliments.

“Niall is going to shit a brick.” She added, practically bouncing on the spot.

“Now that’s attractive,” I teased.

I threw my phone and some money into a small bag, just as a knock sounded at the door. Taylor opened it, pulling Harry into the room quickly.

“Haz, what are you doing here?” she asked, hands on her hips.

He pouted. “I wanted to say happy birthday to Dylan before they went out.”

“You will see her later tonight,” she reminded him. “Nialls gonna be here in a minute.”

“But I wanna give her her present!” he countered, “Don’t be such a kill joy, Taylor!”

Harry ignored the one fingered gesture from Taylor, coming over to give me a hug. “Happy birthday, love,” he said, pulling me back to take another look at me. “Shit, Dylan, you look fit!”

Again, I blushed, pushing at his shoulder. “Thanks Harry.”

He pulled a card from his back pants pocket, handing it to me with a cheeky grin. “Here ya go.”

I took the card, opening it to read the front.

A cartoon Buddah sat on a hilltop, words scribbled above him.

“With age comes knowledge….”

I opened it to read the inside.

“….isnt that right, oh enlightened one?”

I snorted. “Thanks a lot, Haz,” I said, slapping his arm with the card.

“You didn’t read what I wrote though!” he whined, shoving the card back at me.

I opened it again, reading his messy scrawl.

“Dylan, happy birthday girl! My present was too big to give you here *insert naughty comment here* but it will be waiting for you when you get home to LA. I got you the studio kit you said you wanted, so you can take sexy pictures of me whenever you want! Have a great birthday! Love, Harry Styles”

I laughed at how he had signed his name like an autograph at the bottom of the card.

“Harry, you didn’t have to do that. That kit is expensive.” I scolded, feeling awkward.

He shrugged. “Whatever. You said you wanted it.”

I bit my lip, before pulling him in for another hug. “Thank you Haz.”

“Any time, love.”

Harry kissed my cheek just as another male voice called out.

“Get your hands off my woman, Styles.”

Harry just pulled me closer, nuzzling into me. I giggled, pushing at his shoulder. “Careful, Styles, you’ve got my boyfriend AND your girlfriend standing right here.”

“Meh.” Was all Harry said before pulling away to go stand by Taylor.

Once free from Harrys embrace, I looked over to find Nialls standing near the bed, and my breath caught in my throat. He looked incredible. He wore a dark gray suit, with a white shirt underneath. No tie, just the first few buttons undone. The gray of the suit emphasized the blue of his eyes, and my heart stuttered at the sight of him.

He gave me a sexy grin, coming to stand in front of me. His eyes wandered up and down my body, before a low oath slipped passed his lips.

“Jesus, babe. You look amazing. Maybe we will just forget dinner and go right for dessert, yeah?” he said, pulling me into him to nuzzle into my neck. I inhaled the smell of his cologne, and was suddenly very all about his new birthday plan.

“Oh no you don’t!” Harry piped up, coming to pull us apart. “You guys get out of here. We have a party to be making, and need you out!”

“The party isn’t in the hotel room, Haz.” Niall corrected, still not letting me go.

“We will see about that.” Harry answered with a smirk.

I shot him a look, which he studiously ignored, before pulling Taylor out of the room. She gave me a wave, before following Harry out and into the hallway.

Niall looked down at me, taking a step back to hold out his arm.

“Ready for a night you’ll never forget?”

I accepted the arm he offered, following him out of the room.

“With you, always.” 

 

I was so full I was certain the zipper on my dress was going to pop open. My stomach was so stretched it was pretty up on my diaphragm making it difficult for my lungs to even expand. I leaned back in my chair, trying to breathe.

Niall laughed at my expression. “Having trouble over there, babe?”

“Oh, God. Im going to explode.”

He gave me a naughty look. “Not until later, love.”

I threw my napkin at him.

Dinner had been incredible. I had had chicken stuffed with goat cheese and peppers, while Niall had had steak. I was surprised when I had finished the meal, there was so much. Between us was the empty plate from the chocolate cake we had shared for dessert.

The waiter appeared out of thin air, clearing away the empty plates. Niall poured us each another glass of wine, emptying the bottle we had shared.

I gave him a smirk. “Trying to get me drunk, Mr Horan?”

“Trying.” He winked.

I leaned forward, my elbows on the table, reaching to take a sip of the wine. Niall reached out and took my hand, his thumb rubbing the back in small circles.

“So, nice birthday?” he asked, smiling.

I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. “Very nice, birthday. Thank you, baby.”

He pulled my hand to his lips, kissing the back. “Its not over yet.”

He pulled back, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small box. He placed it on the table between us. My hand froze half way to my lips with my wine, as my eyes focused on the small, black box.

I looked up to Niall, who was just grinning. He said nothing. Did nothing. Just waited for me to open it.

I set my glass down gently, hoping that he didn’t notice the shaking of my hand.

Surely this isn’t what it looks like? I thought. He had teased weeks before, but we had never actually discussed getting engaged. Neither of us were ready for something like that.

My heart was hammering in my chest, my full stomach twisting uncomfortably.

My eyes flickered between his and the box. Finally, I reached out, plucking it from the table. It was small, almost weightless. I turned it over in my hands a few times.

“Well,” Niall said, his voice soft. “Open it.”

I swallowed loudly, before popping the lid on the box.

Inside was a ring, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was not an engagement ring. Niall laughed across from me.

“I told you, babe, when I proposed it would be more romantic than after sex. And I will tell you now, it will be more creative than after dinner on your birthday.”

My eyes were still on the ring. It was beautiful. It was white gold, a princess cut sapphire stone in the middle, flanked by two small diamonds. Niall pushed out of his chair to come and kneel beside me. He took the box from my hands, removing the ring.

“This is not an engagement ring, babe, so you can relax.” He teased, taking my hand to slide the ring on the ring finger of my left hand. “But I did want to give you something to show you how much I love you. To make a statement.”

“So this is like a promise ring?” I asked, meeting his eyes.

He snickered. “That sounds awfully high school, but I suppose that is what it means, yeah.”

I looked at the ring on my hand, surprised at how well it fit. I had freakishly small fingers, and most rings didn’t fit me well.

“How did you know my size?” I heard myself ask.

Niall smirked. “I stole one of your other rings one day when you were out. I used it to get this one fitted.”

I smiled down at my hand. I shocked me how right the ring looked on my finger. I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like if Niall really did propose one day. I found myself excited at the thought, even though moments ago I had been terrified.

“So you like it?” he asked, sounding nervous.

“I love it.” I whispered back, leaning down to kiss him. He smiled into the kiss, his hand rubbing my leg.

Pulling back, he gave me a wink. “Now, we party.”


	44. Chapter 44

The noise from the club pounded out onto the street. As we pulled up to the entrance, there were already lines of fans flanking the doorway. Barricades held them back, and a noticeable increase in security was present.

The rest of the guys must already have been inside, the fans craning for a better look both inside the club, and towards our car. The moment Niall parked, a valet appeared out of nowhere, ready to take the keys.

Before stepping out, Niall looked over at me. “Ready?” he said with a grin.

I glanced at the crowd, feeling nervous. No matter how many times I had walked through swarms of fans, it still make me anxious. I turned back to him, giving him a quick nod.

He hopped from the car, the screams deafening the moment the fans caught sight of him. He crossed around the front of the car, waving at them as he came to my door. Opening it, he helped me out, leading me into the club.

I was suddenly even more conscious of the ring on my finger, and turned my hand to hide it against my side. Screams of “Happy Birthday Dylan!” and “Niall I love you!” stung my ears as we entered, the shrieks being drowned out by the beat of the music.

Once inside the safety of the club, Niall led me back towards a blocked off area. We weaved through the people on the dance floor, Niall grasping my hand tightly as I followed. Finally there, we stepped up onto a slightly elevated platform, which was almost just as big as the dance floor below.

I was bombarded with screams of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” the moment we came into sight.

I was swept away from Niall into a cluster of hugs. The guys were all there, as well as everyone on the team. Taylor pulled me away from Harry, jumping up and down. “Now THIS is how we should always spend your birthday!”

I laughed, as Liam pulled me into his arms for a hug.

Once everyone had gotten in their happy birthday time, Niall reclaimed me.

“Care for a drink?” he said in my ear, straining against the noise of the club.

“Sure. Surprise me.”

He gave me a sexy grin at that, before disappearing into the crowd towards the bar.

Taylor pulled me over to the couch, practically throwing me down. She was obviously a little drunk.

“So what did Niall give you for your birthday?” She asked, her drink in her hand. “Other than a shitload of roses, of course.”

I tried to keep my face impassive as I held up my hand to show her the ring.

She choked on her drink.

“Are you fucking KIDDING me!?” she screamed, wrenching my hand towards her to get a better look.

“Its not an engagement ring, Taylor,” I quickly pointed out. “Just a promise ring.”

She snorted. “Sounds so high school.”

I laughed. “That’s what Niall said.”

Taylor turned my hand over, the ring catching the lights of the club. “Its gorgeous, though. I cant wait to see what he picks when he gets you an engagement ring!”

I pulled my hand back. “Lets not get too ahead of ourselves, yeah?”

Taylor just shrugged, just as Harry flopped down next to her.

“Good time, yeah?” he yelled, beer in hand.

“Well, Ive only been here five minutes, but so far, yeah.” I teased.

I had to hand it to Niall, he did throw a good party. There was food, which I was too full to eat, and the drinks never seemed to end. I was feeling a little light headed by my third fruity whatever Niall had chosen for me, something he was enjoying as I held onto him for balance.

He pulled me tightly against him, his hands roaming across my bum. “I cant fucking wait to get you home.” He said in my ear, his breath tickling my neck.

I giggled, pushing at his shoulder. He wouldn’t budge. He kissed the curve of my neck, his fingers trailing up and down my lower back. My hands pressed into his chest, as I tilted my head to give him better access. He hummed against my skin, the sensation causing shivers down my spine.

Feeling brave, thanks to the alcohol, I slowly trailed a hand down his chest, across his abs, before lightly running a finger over the crotch of his pants. He groaned, lifting his head to give me a look.

“Don’t start something like that here, love, unless you’re prepared for me to take you on the couch with all these people around.” He threatened.

I continued to tease him through his pants, earning myself a hooded glare. I grabbed my hand from his crotch, pulling me roughly down a short hall at the back of the VIP area. The moment we were blocked from view, he slammed me against the wall, pressing himself into me. His lips claimed my own, his tongue slipping into my mouth before I even had a chance to take a breath. He had one hand in my hair, the other, gripping my hip tightly as he pressed himself into me. I slipped my fingers into the belt loops of his pants, pulling him as close as I could without tearing the material.

“This is a sexy dress, babe,” he growled. “But it would look even better on the floor.”

I laughed. “Don’t you dare think of stripping me in the middle of a club, Niall Horan!”

He just grinned, his head dipping down to kiss the indent between my collar bones. His hands travelled down my body, wrapping around to my bum. In a movement so swift it caused me to shriek, he lifted me up, pressing me against the wall as his lips came back to mine. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, ignoring the fact that my dress was riding up dangerously high on my thighs.

He rocked his hips upward, and I could feel him straining against his dress pants. He did it again, the friction forcing a moan from my lips, my head tilting back.

“WHOA!” A familiar voice called surprisingly close.

Niall almost dropped me to the ground in surprise. My hands quickly lowered the hem of my dress, as I met Louis wide eyes.

“Why is it always me who finds you guys pre-coitus?” he asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

“I’d like to know that too, Lou!” Niall called, shuffling his feet. He was obviously uncomfortable, and I couldn’t help but snicker. He was rarely denied his relief, and the frustration on his face was obvious.

“I just came to tell you the cake is coming out.” Louis said, turning to walk away. “You guys can continue fondling each other after, yeah?”

I laughed, taking a step forward to follow Louis. Niall grabbed my wrist, pressing me against the wall once more. He kissed me deeply, his tongue tracing my lower lip. Pressing his forehead to mine, he growled. “This isn’t over, babe.”

I grinned at him. “Im counting on it.”

We emerged from our little tryst to various smirks, smiles and hollers.

“A little uncomfortable, there, Nialler?” Zayn called from across the couch.

“Yeah, you look a little….strained!” Liam added, earning himself a high five from Zayn.

Niall gave them the finger, just as Louis brought out a giant slab cake, and everyone started singing happy birthday. I stepped up to the cake, and burst out laughing. Niall was behind me, and all I heard was “Happy birthday to….WHAT THE FUCK?”

Louis stood behind the cake, grinning wildly as he sang. Once the song was done, Niall glared at him.

“Louis, what the fuck did you do?”

Louis shrugged. “You told me to get something she would like.” He said, unfazed. “I figured this worked.”

“You got her a shirtless picture of Justin fucking Timberlake on her cake?” Niall spat, annoyed.

“Yeah….she thinks hes hot. I thought I did good!” Louis yelled back.

I circled around to him, hugging him. “You did real good, Lou.”

“Thanks love. Don’t let Niall ruin your fun. Dive right into those abs if you want.” He said, throwing Niall a glare.

I cut into the cake, while Niall scowled behind me. Once everyone had their piece, a statement that Harry loved to accentuate with perverted additives, more drinks circulated the room.

We danced, drank and licked frosting off each other until the wee hours of the morning. Around two am, we stumbled into my hotel room, laughing at the antics that were still occurring in the hallway as Harry and Louis fake strip teased at Taylor.

“Night, you two,” she called, pushing Louis away when he tried to shake his bum at her. “Have fun.”

I didn’t even get to respond before Niall pulled me into the room, slamming the door. The moment we were alone, he started to recreate the nights earlier rendezvous. I was pressed against the door, and within seconds, up in the air, my legs around his waist.

“Now, where were we before Louis interrupted us….AGAIN?”

I slid my tongue along his jaw. “Right about here, I think.”

His fingers dug into the flesh of my bum, while mine tangled into the hair at the back of his neck. We explored each other frantically, still feeling the excitement and energy of the club around us. Suddenly, Niall, pulled back, letting me glide to the floor. He took my hand, leading me to the foot of the bed. He took my shoulders, standing me in front of him, before taking a step back. He brought a hand to his mouth, tilting his head as he examined me.

“Niall, what are you doing?” I asked, starting to take a step towards him.

He stopped me, smiling. “Im just thinking about where to start,” he teased. I took a step back, replacing myself where I had been. He looked me over with such a gaze of want, it was driving me insane. Not touching him was killing me. Finally, he took a step forward, reaching around to the zipper of my dress. His lips skimmed my neck so lightly, it was barely a touch, as he slowly slid the zipper down. Pulling back, the dress pooled onto the floor. Niall took my hand, helping me step out of the fabric as he kicked it away.

“Hmm, I was right.” He said with a grin.

“About what,” I asked, breathless already.

“As much as that dress looked amazing on, it looks even better on the floor.”

He stood back again, looking me over. I was standing in just my black lace boy shorts, no bra, and black heels. Niall unbuttoned a few more buttons at the top of his shirt, exposing more of his chest. When I reached forward to help, he gave me a look to stop me. Again, I stepped back into my place. He untucked his shirt, but didn’t remove it completely. He stepped up to stand close enough I could feel his warmth, but not close enough for us to be touching. It was killing me.

He reached up, stroking my cheek with the back of his fingers. Leaning forward, he kissed me gently. “Happy birthday, baby.”

I smiled against his lips. “Thank you.”

He deepened the kiss, but the moment I tried to touch him, he stopped, stepping back again with a smirk.

“I think tonight, we are going to keep up with the theme of spoiling you.” He said, giving me an evil look.

“What?”

“Im going to spoil you,” he said again, reaching out to trail a light touch across my shoulder, along my collarbones, and down my side. “But Im not going to let you touch me.”

“Are you kidding me?” I bawked.

“Nope.” He said with a smile. “It will make it more intense for you if you cant dig those beautiful fingers into my skin every five minutes.”

“Niall…” I started to protest, but he placed a finger to my lips.

“You shush.” He said, running the finger down my neck and between by breasts. “And lay on the fucking bed.”

I stared at him wide eyed, doing as I was told. I moved to kick off my heels, but he stopped me. “Leave them on.”

Once laying on the bed, Niall crawled up my body, hovering just far enough away that he wasn’t touching me. He placed a gentle kiss on my lips, before rolling onto his side and laying beside me. He was just far enough away, that yet again, we weren’t touching. He eyed me cheekily, before reaching over and trailing his fingertips across my collarbones in a feather light touch. My eyes were locked on his, my lips parting just at his touch. I wanted to badly to touch him it was killing me. And he knew it.

He trailed his fingers down the valley of my breasts, before flattening his palm on my stomach. The warmth of his hand was almost electric. He slid his hand up towards my chest, taking time with each breast while I squirmed. My hand closest to him inched towards him, aching to touch him. The moment he saw the movement, he removed his hand from me. Giving me a stern look.

I moved my hand back to my side, gripping the sheets tightly in frustration. He smirked, replacing his hand on my breast, teasing me. After giving each breast equal attention, his hand trailed down my stomach again, stopping just above my pelvis. He slid closer to me, hovering over me until our lips were only millimeters apart. Still, he didn’t kiss me, and barely touched me other than his busy hand.

My breath came out in puffs, the tension in my center like nothing I had experienced. His hand trailed down the outside of my far leg, bending it up slightly, before his finger tips traced along the inside of my thigh, dangerously close to where I wanted his touch most. Aggravatingly, he skipped my center, moving directly to give the other leg the same teasing touch.

I groaned loudly in frustration, earning me a laugh from Niall.

“Having issues, love?” he teased, his accent thicker than usual.

“You are my issue right now, Horan.” I said, grinding my teeth at him.

He trailed his fingers back towards my center, pausing to leave feather light touches at the inside of my thigh. My breathing spiked in anticipation.

“Whatever do you mean?” he said, giving me an innocent look.

“You know EXACTLY what I mean!” I whined, just as he leaned so close I could have kissed him if I just moved my lips a tiny bit. “You’re driving me crazy.”

He smiled. “Then Im doing my job right.”

I growled at him, reaching up and pulling his face to mine. He laughed against my lips, my hands tangling in his hair. He kissed me back, before pulling away. I tried to hold him to me, curving my body into his, but he resisted. GOD DAMN HIM!

“For fuck sake, Niall!” I moaned, not sure if I wanted to kiss him or punc him in the face.

“Patience, baby,” he laughed, his hand placing itself on my hip. He slipped his fourth and fifth fingers under the band of my knickers, lightly teasing the skin.

I groaned in frustration, fisting the sheets angrily. Niall laughed.

“This is fun,” he said, proudly.

“You’re an ass.” I scowled.

He raised an eyebrow in response, before slipping his hand into my knickers. He flattened his palm against me, before slipping two fingers inside me forcefully.

I gasped at the sudden contact that I had been craving. My back arched off the bed slightly, meeting his body as he hovered over me. His palm made firm circles on me, his fingers curling against my walls. I still gripped the sheets angrily, wanting to touch him back, but afraid if I reached for him he would pull away again.

His lips were right in front of mine, the feel of his breath causing to me open my eyes and meet his.

“Better?” he breathed.

I nodded just as he gave a forceful circle against me, the only sound escaping being an incoherent gasp. He smiled.

“God,” I sighed, my eyes closing again. “Please just let me touch you.”

“You really want to?” he asked, his lips still not against mine.

“For fuck sake, YES!”

He laughed, before finally bringing his lips to mine hungrily. My hands flew to his hair, his shoulders, his back. I clawed at him frantically as if I had been deprived of something I required to survive. In a way, I had.

I ripped the open shirt from his back, throwing it away with such force Niall burst out laughing. His hand still tortured me as I tried to keep my thoughts clear enough to function my hands. I reached down, fumbling with his belt just as he curled his fingers again, hitting my g-spot and causing me to shake.

“OH GOD.”

My hands dug into the waist of his pants, unable to execute the task. He released the pressure, my head clearing. Okay, I had had enough of this ‘lets tease Dylan until she screams’ shit.

I reached down, removing his hand from me and flipping him over onto his back. I straddled his thighs, my hands pulling away his belt and undoing his pants in two swift motions. Sliding down the bed, I took his pants and boxers off in one swipe, leaving him naked and laughing.

“You’re so sexy when you’re horny, babe,” he teased.

“Shut up and kiss me, Niall.” I said, crawling up to meet his lips. He sat up to meet me half way, reaching forward to take my hips. I crawled up until I was straddling him again, our bodies pressed together. My arms wrapped around his neck, clinging tightly as he guided me down and around him. He slid into me, the ache rising in such a gratifying sensation I almost came right then. I moaned loudly into his mouth with relief.

I ground myself into him, not in the mood for gentleness. He resisted, moving his hips painfully slow as I shifted to wrap my legs around him. I groaned. He was an infuriating man.

“Just hold still for a minute, babe,” he said, looking up at me with heavy, lust filled eyes. “I just love to feel you.”

I stilled my hips, calming my eagerness. I met his eyes, getting lost in him. I ran my hands gently through his hair as his hands moved up and down my back. I felt every sensation of him, every breath, every heartbeat. He kissed my chest gently, the action tender, not sexual. I felt him inside me, filling me completely in such a way that it was both painful and exquisite at the same time. Bringing our eyes back to each other, he started moving his hips, oh so slowly.

My lips fell parted, my hands gripping his shoulders as he moved inside me, his breathing coming out in rough gasps as he slowly increased his pace. We never broke eye contact, the action making it even more intimate.

He ground into me, increasingly harder, until we had found a familiar rhythm. He buried his face in my chest, his hot breath spreading across my damp skin. My head fell back as I starting to tense, the filling inside me coming to the surface.

“Oh god,” I breathed, clutching at him. “Jesus, Niall.”

“Fuck, Dylan, I cant hold out much longer,” he said against my skin, pressing his forehead against me.

“Then don’t!” I said forcefully.

My words caused him to shake, his head throwing back. He swore, and the sensation deep inside me caused my own, violent release.

We clung to each other, as another wave passed over me seconds after the first. My nails dug into his shoulder, and I heard him swear again. We sat still, panting, coming down from our high before Niall laid back against the bed, tucking his hands beneath his head. He stared up at me, a pleased smile on his face as I stayed perched atop him, still intimately connected.

He sighed loudly. “Happy birthday, babe.”

I leaned forward to kiss him. “Best. Birthday. Ever.”


	45. Chapter 45

I woke the next morning with the worst hangover I had ever had. The tiny amount of light that snuck in under the drapes was enough to blind me, the pounding in my head making it feel like I was back the club. I felt coated in sweat, smoke and sale alcohol, and had never wanted a shower more in my life. Except that any slight movement sent the room spinning, so the whole shower idea was going to have to wait.

I heard Niall groan beside me, the bed shifting as he moved.

It was enough to make me nauseous.

“Ugh, Niall, don’t move the bed so much,” I groaned, my hand flying to my spinning head.

“Im not,” he whined, rolling onto his back. “Quit yelling.”

“Im not!” I said back, annoyed.

“Ugh.” He whined. “I am so fucking hung over.”

“Me too. I feel horrible!” I forced back the sick feeling in my stomach. “Im never drinking again.”

“I would say that too, but we both know it would be a lie.” He said, throwing his arm across his face.

We both laid in the bed a long while, the only sounds being the occasional moan or groan of nausea and headaches.

Finally, he sat up, testing his surroundings. After a moment, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, padding into the bathroom.

“So far so good,” he said as he reached the door. A few minutes later, I heard the shower turn on.

I contemplated joining him, but honestly couldn’t imagine moving.

I must have fallen back asleep, because the next thing I knew, he was back in bed, damp from his shower. He smelled much better, like bodywash and shampoo, but still looked like he was fighting the urge to vomit.

“You gonna puke?” I teased, glancing over at him.

He snorted. “Babe, Im Irish. I can hold my booze.”

I rolled my eyes, causing the room to spin.

“I need a shower so bad, but honestly, I don’t think I can get up.” I said, shaking my head.

“I feel a little better after mine.” He admitted. “Although it would have been better with you in there with me.”

I smirked, still hiding under the safety of my arm across my eyes. “How can you always be horny?”

I felt him shrug. “It’s a gift.”

I heard his phone buzz from beside him. He swore, before I felt the bed shift as he reached for the offending object.

“Harry wants to grab breakfast.” He said.

“I cant even imagine getting out of this bed right now.” I admitted, rolling onto my side, my back to him. “Just bring me something on your way back.”

He laughed, before kissing my bare shoulder and sliding back out of the bed.

“I will be back in a bit.” He said, as I heard him shuffling around the room, gathering his key and wallet.

“Mmmhmmm.” I was asleep again before the door closed behind him. 

 

“Babe, wake up.” Niall called, bringing me out from my slumber. “I brought you food.”

I opened my eyes, feeling much less sucky than I had earlier that morning. I glanced at the clock to see that it was almost one in the afternoon.

“Shit,” I said, moving to prop myself up on my elbows. The room didn’t spin, which was a plus. But I still felt nauseous. Which sucked. “I didn’t realize I slept that long.”

Niall shrugged, placing a plate of food over on the table beside the bed. “Doesn’t matter. Almost everyone is a walking dead right now. Half are still in bed.”

I let myself fall back against the pillows again. “Im not ready to get up yet. I still feel like shit.”

“Okay,” Niall said, running his hand over my hair. “Im going to go hang out with Zayn for a bit, yeah?”

“Okay,” I said, feeling his lips against my cheek as he disappeared again. 

 

“Dylan, for Christ sake, get up!” Taylors voice woke me, annoying me immediately. “Its after dinner time! You’ve slept all fucking day.”

I groaned, reaching out to aim a rude gesture in the direction I thought her voice was coming from.

She laughed, and I felt the bed move under her weight.

I snuggled into the bed deeper, trying to go back to sleep.

“Oh, no you don’t.” she said, pulling the blankets from me. “You at least have to get up and eat something. Niall left a plate of food here hours ago.”

“Then its probably all gross now.” I protested.

“No it isn’t. He put it in the fridge before he went to hang with the guys. Who, by the way, are all so hung over that Louis keeps passing out on the couch and Harry is drawing on his face.”

I usually would have laughed, but I felt too icky.

I sat up slowly, looking around. Taylor was perched at the foot of the bed, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was dressed in sweats, pure comfort clothing. I had a feeling that pretty much everyone was going for the practical, comfy look today.

She hopped off the bed, pulling a plate of fruit from the fridge and placing it beside me on the bed. She disappeared, returning a minute later with a big glass of water and two advil.

“Here ya go,” she said, passing me the pills. I down them with a big gulp of water.

She pushed the plate of food towards me, encouraging me to eat.

I picked up a piece of pineapple, my favorite, popping it in my mouth. It tasted good, and I savoured the juices. But just as I swallowed, a roll of nausea took over. My hand flew to my mouth, and I hopped out of the bed and raced to the bathroom. There was nothing in my stomach to come back up, but the retching was less than attractive. I emerged a short time later, to find Taylor giving me a grossed out look.

“You’re such a lightweight.”

“Fuck off, Taylor.” I said, crawling back on the bed. I set the plate of fruit to the side, not willing to try anymore. I wasn’t hungry anyways.

“That reminds me,” she said with a snap of her fingers. “Do you have any tampons? I had a little surprise visitor this morning.” She laughed. “Harry is SO not impressed.”

I rolled my eyes, nodding towards my suitcase. “In there.”

Taylor went over, rummaging through my bag. She pulled out a new box, opening it to slide a few in her pocket.

My mind froze when I looked at the box.

That box was new, I thought. But I had bought it over a month ago. I thought back hard. When was my last period?

“Whats wrong with you?” Taylor asked, sitting on the bed again. “If you’re gonna puke, warn me so I can move, okay?”

I didn’t answer her. My mind was racing, trying to count back to when I last had my period. I was pretty sure I had had it in LA, right before the incident with Christian. But that was almost two months ago. I started counting on my fingers, trying to do the math.

“Whats going on?” Taylor asked, giving me a look.

I shook my head, motioning for her to wait.

I did the math three times. Four. Finally, five.

Fuck. I was almost a month late.

How had I not noticed that? Yes, I had been busy, and yes the whole thing with Christian had me a little thrown, but how could I have no noticed something like that.

I looked at the box of Tampax sitting on top of my suitcase, then over to the plate of fruit.

Oh God.

Taylor looked at me again, concern on her face.

“Dylan?”

I looked up at her, my eyes wide.

“Whats wrong?” she asked.

“Im not sure,” I said, my voice barely audible. “But I think I might be pregnant.”


	46. Chapter 46

“How much longer?” I asked, pacing the small bathroom frantically.

Taylor looked at her watch. “Sixty seconds.”

I groaned.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck fuckity fuck.

“How did this happen?” I asked, throwing myself to sit on the floor, my face in my hands.

“Well, the way you two go at it every five minutes, Im surprised it hasn’t happened a long time ago.” Taylor said. I shot her an angry glare. “Im just saying. You guys have A LOT of sex.” She shrugged.

I ignored her.

I cant believe this. What if I was pregnant? What was I going to do? I was only twenty four! I wasn’t ready for a baby! I could hardly keep my plants alive.

And Niall! What the fuck! Hes only twenty. Hes at the top of his career. This would ruin his life.

The tears started to run down my cheeks.

“Oh, Dylan,” Taylor said, coming to sit beside me on the cold floor. She put her arm around me, pulling me close to her. I leaned my head on her shoulder, crying in earnest. “Don’t worry. We will figure it out.”

“How?” I sniffed. “I mean, what if I AM pregnant, Taylor? Im going to ruin Nialls life.”

“Don’t say that.” She scolded.

“Its true!” I shrieked. “Hes twenty years old Taylor! Hes in no place to have a baby right now. And neither am I! We aren’t ready for this.”

She sighed loudly, not knowing what to say.

There really wasn’t anything to say. There were no words that would make this better. No statements that would somehow make it not true.

She glanced at her watch again.

“Its time.”

My stomach churned. “I cant do it.” I said. “You look.”

She stood from her place on the floor, before pausing and kneeling in front of me. She took my hands, forcing me to look at her.

“No matter, what, Im her and I love you, okay?” she said, meeting my eyes.

I sniffed loudly, nodding.

She stood, reaching out to grab the small white stick on the counter. I stared at her face, willing her to smile, or jump up and down, or look somewhat happy.

She looked stricken.

My heart sank.

She looked down at me, and I knew what it said.

“Im pregnant.” I said, not bothering to make it a question.

She nodded. 

 

Niall came bounding into the room, laughing hysterically.

“Holy shit, babe, you should see Louis’ face!” he laughed, clutching his sides. “Harry drew a penis on his cheek, now hes in the loo trying to scrub it off.”

He took in the somber expressions of Taylor and I on the couch, his mood dropping.

“Whats going on?” he asked, looking between us.

Taylor looked at me. “I think I will leave you two alone.” She said, standing. I gave her a terrified look. “Im here if you need me.” She said, before quickly removing herself from the room.

Niall came and kneeled in front of me, his hands on my knees.

“Baby, whats wrong?” he asked, the concern on his face making me want to burst into tears yet again.

How do I tell him this? How do I tell him that Im fucking pregnant? How do I take this man that I love more than anything in the world and ruin his life?

I hated myself.

He leaned forward, forcing himself into my eye line. “Babe?”

I sighed loudly, my breath shaking. I forced the tears back, willing myself not to cry.

“Niall, I need to tell you something.” I stared at his hands on my knees. I couldn’t look at his face. Not yet.

“Okay?” he answered, confused and concerned.

I sniffed, holding back the tears. I had no idea what to say.

“Just say it,” he said, encouraging me. “Whatever it is, it cant be that bad.”

I looked up to meet his eyes. Before I lost my nerve, I blurted it out.

“Niall, Im pregnant.”

His eyes widened, his mouth falling open. He fell back onto his heels, his arms falling to his sides in shock.

Okay, now I can cry, I thought to myself. The warm tears slid down my cheeks like a waterfall. I was silent, not sobbing as I had been before. But I was still crying.

He just sat on the floor, staring at me. Completely silent. If I hadnt seen his eyes flicker from my face to my stomach and back a few times, I would have sworn he had had an aneurysm.

I didn’t say anything more. I just waited. I was terrified. What if he left me? I wouldn’t blame him if he did. What if he accused me of it not being his? Now that would piss me off. So many thoughts raced through my mind, as Im sure were racing through his.

Finally, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um,” he said, shaking his head to clear this thoughts. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I took a test. And Im almost a month late.”

“You didn’t know this before?” he asked, tension lacing his voice.

“No.” I admitted, stupidly. “Things have been so crazy, I only realized it today.”

There was a long silence before Niall spoke again. “But, you’re on the pill?”

I snorted. “Its only 99% effective, Niall. Nothing is fool proof.”

She shook his head slowly, as if trying to make sense of the last few minutes.

“How?” he asked stupidly.

“Sex, Niall.” I said, slightly annoyed. “Lord knows we do it a lot. And it only takes once.”

He cleared his throat again, before sitting back off his heels to fall onto the floor. He crossed his legs in front of him, his hands running over his face and then through his hair.

I watched him silently.

“So,” he said, looking at me. “What do you want to do?”

I snorted. “What do I want to do?” I said, angrily. “I don’t know, Niall. I want to go back to whenever this happened, and NOT have sex. I want to go back to that night, or morning, or day, or whatever, and say, ‘Hey, babe, why don’t we double up’.”

I knew getting mad at him wasn’t going to make this better, but I was scared and angry and frustrated.

“Don’t snap at me,” he said, keeping his anger in check. “This is just as much of a surprise for me.”

I shook my head, hiding my face in my hands. My shoulders shook as I cried.

I felt the couch move, then his arm over me, pulling me into him. He stroked my hair, kissing the side of my head. “Shhh,” he crooned. “Im sorry, babe.”

“No, Im sorry,” I cried. “This is my fault. I fucking ruined your life.”

“Your fault?” he said, pulling back and forcing me to look at him. “Im pretty sure I was a willing participant, Dylan.”

“But Im the one on the pill. Im the one who is supposed to make sure I take it, and on time, and all that shit.” I said through the tears.

“Don’t even start,” he warned. “This is not your fault. Things happen. And you did NOT ruin my life.”

I just shook my head out of his grasp, pulling my knees towards my chest.

Niall let me go, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees.

He sighed deeply. “Shit.” He said, shaking his head. “So, should we get married?”

I spun to stare at him. “Are you fucking serious?”

“What?”

I laughed out loud. “Shit, should we get married?” I snorted. “Is that the romantic proposal you’ve been promising all this time? Cause if so, it needs work.”

He leaned back on the couch, his hands pulling at his hair. “What do you want me to say, Dylan?” he asked, slightly angry. “I am trying to do the right thing.”

I gaped at him. “The right thing?” I said, shocked. “The right thing? The RIGHT thing would be NOT to refer to marrying me as ‘doing the right thing’”

“UGH!” he screamed, standing abruptly from the couch. “For fuck sake, woman! No matter what I say, you twist my words to make it a fight.”

“Then stop saying stupid shit!” I shouted.

“FINE! Then I wont say anything!” he yelled back, storming out of the room.

He slammed the door behind him, leaving me in the room alone. 

 

I was awoken hours later to the feel of the bed shifting under someones weight. I groaned, snuggling deeper into the bed. I didn’t want to wake up. I wanted to stay in my happy dream land. In my happy dream land I was not pregnant, Niall and I were on an island alone together, and there was no fighting. Reality was everything opposite.

Reality could suck my ass.

“Dylan,” Nialls voice sounded in my ear. “Babe, wake up.”

I let my eyes flutter open, focusing on the clock. 2:13am. Shit.

I rolled onto my back, looking up at him as he laid propped on one elbow. I didn’t say anything, I just looked at him.

He looked stressed. His hair was a fucking mess, the evidence that his hands hand been through it at least a thousand times. His eyes were red, something that happened when he got angry.

“Im sorry,” he finally said, his fingers trailing my cheek. “Im sorry I yelled. Im sorry I walked out.”

I shook my head. “Im sorry I picked a fight with you.”

He kissed me lightly, cautiously, before pulling back to look at me.

“We will figure this out, babe, okay?” he assured me, looking at me with such devotion that it almost made me cry yet again. “Im not going to lose you.”

I sniffed, feeling the tears stinging the back of my eyes.

“But what are we going to do?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Neither of us are ready for this.”

“Is anyone ever really ready?” he asked with a shrug. “All I know is that I love you, and I want to make this work. Somehow.”

I swallowed hard, unable to speak anymore.

He looked down, moving the sheet from my body and lifting my top slightly to expose my middle. His large hand rested on my tummy, sliding gently back and forth as he stared at my non existent bump. He smirked slightly, before looking back up at me.

He leaned down, resting his forehead against mine.

“We’ll figure it out.”


	47. Chapter 47

The next two weeks were awkward and tense. We agreed not to tell anyone that I was pregnant, other than Taylor, who already knew, and Harry, because he knew something was up the moment Taylor came back into their room that night. She wouldn’t tell him, but he knew. Plus, Niall needed someone just as I needed Taylor, so it only made sense.

None of the other guys or anyone else on the team knew. We hadnt really figured out what we were going to do yet, and until we did, we wanted it to stay between us. I wasn’t telling my family, he wasn’t telling his. We had enough to worry about without the added stress of everyone elses reactions and opinions.

Niall had been incredibly supportive, though. He was amazing. He would bring me tea, constantly ask if I was okay, and freak out if I carried anything he deemed too heavy. I kept telling him off, saying that someone was going to figure out something was wrong if he kept dotting after me, but Taylor figured it wasn’t much different than he usually was with me.

Some nights when we laid in bed, he would just touch my stomach, running his hand over it. It was cute, the way he would stare at it, as if trying to see if there was any difference. The night before the second last show on the tour, we were watching TV, and he folded himself across the bed, so his face was at my stomach. He stroked it with his hand, before starting to talk to it.

“Hello, there, tiny person,” he said, earning a laugh from me. “How are you in there? You warm and snuggly?”

I swatted at his head, but he dodged out of the way and kept talking to my little bump. “Your mom is being a pain, but that is usual. I, however, read that you can hear me pretty early, so this will be a regular occurrence whether she likes it or not.”

“Where did you read that?” I asked, reaching over to run my fingers through his hair.

He shrugged. “The internet.”

I laughed. “You always believe everything you read on the internet.”

“Course,” he nodded. “I also read that Harry and Taylor broke up, and he was dating Louis sister.”

He turned his attention back to my stomach. “So, I figure, if you come out looking like your mom, when we are good. If you come out looking like me, well, Im sorry.”

“Niall!” I laughed, pushing him away from my stomach. “Don’t say that.”

He laughed, coming back up to lay beside me again. “Well, its true.”

“No it isn’t.” I countered, kissing him. “You are sexy, and adorable, and gorgeous.”

“And good in bed,” he added. “Don’t forget that.”

“Fine. You’re good in bed.”

“Damn right I am.”

We hadnt had sex much since we found out I was pregnant. The first time we started to fool around, Niall got all freaked out. “What if the baby can see?” he asked, looking down at my tummy. “What if he sees my thing coming at it! That’s enough to scare the hell out of a baby!”

“Oh for Christ sake Niall!” I laughed, pulling him back down to me.

The tour was coming to an end in a couple days. A few months before, I had thought that my biggest problem right now would have been my relationship with Niall. Would we stay together? How would we make this work? Now, my biggest problem was the fact that I was carrying his baby.

The night of the final show in Montreal, the crowd was in a frenzy. The guys played it out amazing, living up their last night on the road. Everyone was excited to head home for a nice long break. They had a month off before doing a short stint around Australia and New Zealand after the holidays.

That night, we went out to celebrate.

We went to a local Montreal pub, everyone cheering, hollering, and talking about their plans for the next few weeks.

Louis handed me a drink from across the table. “Com’on, Page, this is a party!”

I pushed it away. “No thanks,” I said, trying to make my decline subtle. “Im still recovering from my birthday.”

Louis snorted. “Whatever. Don’t be a wuss. What, you pregnant or something.”

Niall choked on his drink, sputtering it down his front. Louis just laughed, oblivious to anything other than Niall made a mess.

“Smooth, Nialler,” he teased, turning his attention to Liam.

Niall had decided to come back to LA with me for a few weeks before the holidays, then go back to London before spending Christmas with his family in Ireland. We had talked about telling our families over the holidays about the baby, but still hadnt decided. It was still terrifying to think that we were having a baby. I planned on seeing Rajani, one of my ER docs who was also a gynecologist, the moment I got back to LA. There weren’t too many people I trusted enough with this information, and beyond the fact that she would be bound by confidentiality not to let my ‘condition’ slip, I trusted her as a friend. Niall was curious about how far along I was, and also wanted to know the sex. I told him it was too soon, but he wanted to know. I said I didn’t, that I would rather have a surprise. That was something else we didn’t agree on.

That, and names. We didn’t agree on that AT ALL.

If it was a boy, he wanted to name it after various football players from Ireland. If it was a girl, I wanted to name it after my gran. He didn’t complain about that too much, but wasn’t too keen on too many of my suggestions.

The morning after the final show was heart wrenching. These people had become my family, my support system. Saying goodbye to them with any sense of finality was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do. The guys had told me that there were talks of me signing on to photograph the Australian leg of the tour after the holidays, but until I spoke to Rich back in LA, I wasn’t going to make any serious plans.

At the airport as everyone headed off in their various directions, there were countless goodbyes, salutes and tears. Kissing Harrys cheek, I whispered in his ear. “Thank you so much for everything, Haz.”

He hugged me back tightly, burying his face in my neck. “Anytime, love. And remember, Harold is a right fetching name for a baby, I think.”

I laughed, pinching his side.

The plane ride back home to LA was long, and I fell asleep quickly, my head on Nialls shoulder. I was falling asleep a lot lately, my energy being sucked dry by the little monster inside me. I kept calling it ‘the little monster’ which drove Niall crazy.

“You’re going to give it a complex!” he whined, patting my tummy.

“You keep calling it ‘it’, whats the difference?”

“Better than monster!”

Niall lugged all our luggage up into my apartment, refusing to let me carry my own.

“Im not some fragile little flower, Niall.” I whined, taking my camera bag from him. “Its going to be a long nine months if you keep babying me like this.”

“Oh stop whining, woman,” he said, tossing his bag onto the floor and heading back down for the second load. “So many women would love to have their man take care of them like I do you! Quit your bitching.”

We unpacked as best we could, although trying to share space was difficult for two people not used to living together. He learned quickly that leaving the wet towels on the floor was NOT something I cared for, and I learned that leaving dishes in the sink drove him insane.

A few days after we returned home, I made an appointment with Rajanis office. She squeezed me in for the following afternoon, agreeing to stay late to do my checkup. We arrive at the office shortly after five, meeting Rajani at the door.

She pulled me into a hug. “So good to see you!” she said, pulling back to look at me. “It just hasn’t been the same around here without you.”

“Ive missed you guys too,” I said. “Im planning on coming back to work in the next week.”

“Oh thank god,” Rajani said, leading me towards an exam room. Niall followed behind, unusually quiet. “Some of the new girls they hired in there are a hot mess.”

Rajani was my height, with dark, east Indian skin and jet black hair. Her glasses were always perched low on her nose, her figure obscured by the OR greens she always seemed to be wearing. She was about ten years older than me, but we had always gotten along well.

Sitting me in the first exam room, she turned after closing the door behind Niall.

“So, this is the guy Ive been hearing about?” she said, giving Niall an approving look.

“Oh god,” I laughed. “Is it all over the department?”

“That you’re dating some hot Irish guy that you met on the road? Yeah. Its pretty much made the rounds.” She affirmed. She turned to Niall. “Say something for me.”

He gave her a strange look. “Like what?”

“Like anything,” she said, hands on her hips. “I love accents, so I wanna hear it.”

He laughed. “Um, hello, my name is Niall, I am from Ireland.”

Rajani laughed, clapping her hands. “Good stuff, Im good now.”

She turned back to me. “So whats up?”

I hadnt told her that I was pregnant. I just told her I had ‘girl issues’. I wanted to be face to face before I told her, just to impress upon her the importance of confidentiality on the subject.

“Well, turns out Im pregnant.”

Rajani almost dropped the pen in her hand. “What?”

I nodded. “Yup.”

“How long?” she asked, composing herself and picking up a clipboard from the table at her side.

“Not sure.” I said. “Im thinking maybe six weeks. I was hoping you could help give me a better idea.”

Rajani nodded, then set into doctor mode. She asked me the date of my last period, any symptoms I had been experiencing, the usual. Unfortunately, to date my pregnancy, she needed to do a transvaginal ultrasound. That, I was NOT impressed with.

“Whats that?” Niall asked when I gave Rajani a horrified look.

“We have to do an internal ultrasound to get a more accurate date on the baby.” She explained as she held up the wand.

Nialls eyes widened. “Youre going to put that in my girlfriend?”

She nodded, “Sorry, lover boy, but if you hadnt been in there, then this wouldn’t have to.”

I snorted.

I told Niall he could leave during the exam, but he refused. As freaked out as he looked, he stood there, holding my hand as Rajani did the exam, watching on the monitor until she found the tiny blip that showed the babies heart beat.

“There you go,” she said, turning the monitor towards us. She pointed to a tiny little flutter near the bottom of the screen. “That is the heart.” She moved the probe, and I winced, squeezing Nialls hand. “Looks like youre about seven weeks, Dylan. Which makes sense with your last period.”

I nodded, staring at the tiny flutter on the screen.

Holy fuck. That was our baby.

I looked up at Niall who had the most amazed look on his face.

“So, that’s it?” he asked, leaning forward closer to the screen.

Rajani nodded, pushing a button to freeze the image. She removed the probe, much to my relief, before printing a picture from the monitor for us to take home. She handed it to Niall, who stared at it confused.

“Wait, I lost it again.” He said, handing it back to Rajani to point out the tiny blip that was the baby.

We made a sequence of appointments with Rajani to keep my progress in the pregnancy, and she promise wholeheartedly, even beyond the whole doctor patient confidentiality, that no one would ever know that I was pregnant until I was ready to tell them.

The whole night, Niall kept looking at the ultrasound image. He seemed fascinated by it, his eyes scanning over the dark waves.

“This is so crazy,” he said as he climbed into bed. “There really is a baby in there.”

I laughed. “There has been for almost two months, Niall.”

“I know,” he said, sliding under the covers, and turning to look at me. “But now we really saw it, yeah? Like, it has a heartbeat and stuff.”

I nodded. “Freaked out?” I asked.

He shrugged. “No more than I already was,” he laughed. “If anything, Im kind of excited.”

I looked at him, kind of shocked.

“What?” he said, reaching out to touch my tummy. “Youre having my baby. Im supposed to be excited, no?”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I just figured it would take a little longer for the fear to turn into excitement.”

Niall laughed. “Well I always was one to surprise you, yeah?”

“Aint that the truth.”


	48. Chapter 48

I had met with Rich regarding touring with the guys in Australia after the holidays, and he had been so pleased with the work I had produced so far, he said there was no way I couldn’t continue to finish out the tour to the end. I signed on the dotted line, making it official. After the holidays, I would be going to Australia and New Zealand for 2 months with the guys.

Niall was happy, but also concerned. His usual overprotective habits had jumped into overdrive since I got pregnant, and everything I said I wanted to do, he was worried about. He spent so much time online researching pregnancy stuff, he was worse than a woman. I finally brought home ‘What to expect when you’re expecting’ for him to read, mostly as a joke. Funny thing was, he read it! I would come home from work to find him curled up on the couch under a blanket, reading about lactation and dilation.

“Are your boobs sore?” he asked me one day as I was making dinner.

“What?”

“It says here that your boobs may be sore…Im just curious.” He said, pointing to the book.

I laughed. “No, babe, so far as good.”

He nodded to himself. “Good, cause I don’t want to lose my playthings.”

I was tempted to throw a spoonful of spaghetti sauce at him, but knew I would just have to clean it up, so held back.

Living together was starting to get a little easier. We were learning what drove each other crazy, and most of the time avoided it. Of course, there were always those times that you just had a hankering to piss the other person off, just for fun, so I would leave dishes around and he would just throw a pile of towels in the middle of the bathroom floor. But for the most part, we had gotten in to a new routine.

Returning to my life in the ER made me feel normal again. Back in my own apartment, my own routines, my old friends and my old job. Everything was as it had been before Taylor had suggested the job with One Direction.

Well, everything except now I had a wicked sexy boyfriend at home….and a bun in the oven.

I hadnt seen or heard anything regarding Christian since we returned home. Officer Mills had called my second week home, just to let me know that nothing had changed, and that there would be another hearing just before the holidays. I was glad that things were seeming to settle, and that he probably had given up on whatever sick mission he had in his head. I still didn’t understand what had caused him to go after me in the first place. It really made no sense to me. But it didn’t matter, in the long run. As long as he stayed far away from me, I was a happy camper.

I stuck by my decision not to tell anyone about my pregnancy. Niall agreed, but for a different reason. The damn book told him that the first three months were the trickiest, so he figured to wait until I was in my second trimester before making any announcements.

I cursed myself for every getting him that damn book.

I had picked up almost full time hours in the ER once I had returned home, and the routine was stressful but familiar. I worked twelve hour shifts most of the time, and would come home dead tired. Niall would do what he could to take the strain off, knowing that I enjoyed being back at work so not giving me too much of a hassle over the long hours.

On days I worked, he would cook and clean, taking care of everything at home. I would come home to find him in the kitchen, wearing an apron that he had found in a cupboard, dancing around to the stereo while he cooked. I had to admit it was pretty amusing.

In the middle of my third full week back at work, I had had a day from hell. I was at triage, and for some reason, the gates of hell must have opened right outside the ER. The people kept streaming in. Some days, it was all riff raff. Nothing that was urgent or cause for worry. But for some reason, today was full of legitimately sick people. We had two VSAs, a two year old with febrile seizure, and some of the overflow from another ER who got the majority of patients from a car accident on the highway. It was just a crazy day.

I was at triage with Megan and Nicole, and even with all three of us going constantly, we hardly got a break. Other nurses had to be pulled from other areas just so we could go for lunch. I didn’t even bother with dinner. When I was this busy, I honestly wasn’t hungry.

The end of the shift finally arrived, and after giving a never ending report to the oncoming staff, Megan and Nicole turned to me exhausted.

“Today sucked,” Megan said, exasperated. “We need ice cream to ease our pain.”

I laughed. Megans solution to every problem was ice cream.

“You coming, Dylan? We are heading over to Menchies.” Nicole asked, pulling her purse from the drawer under the triage desk.

“Im definitely in. Ive been craving ice cream all day.” That was a partial truth. My cravings hadnt really started, but I had learned that once I started on something I liked, I ate much more of it than I usually did. I assumed that ice cream would be the same.

I sent Niall a quick text that I was going out with the girls after work and would be home later. I snorted at his reply.

Niall: fine, Ive just been slaving around this house all day, but you go, play with your friends. Leave me alone with my book and my pint.

Me: love you baby

Niall: love you too

It was a short drive to the local Menchies, and we all took our own cars since we all lived in different directions. We all filled our bowls to the brim, our ice cream messes rather disgusting in presentation, but delicious in taste. Mine was primarily all chocolate.

“Yours looks like a pile of poop, Dylan,” Nicole pointed out, reaching over to steal a scoop from my bowl.

“Yours looks like a smurf threw up on it.” I replied, eyeing her colorful mess she had created.

“That’s what I was going for,” she said proudly.

They had asked how things were, about life on the road, and mostly about my new relationship. Rajani hadnt been kidding when he said that the rumors about me and my Irish hottie had been making the rounds. Apparently everyone knew about us, and it had been a night shift pass time to look up pictures of us on google while I had been gone.

“You all need to get a life,” I teased, scraping out the last of my ice cream.

“Well, sorry, we cant all have the excitement you have, Page,” Megan scoffed, leaning back to relieve the pressure in her tummy. “We don’t all have famous friends and hot boyfriends who take care of us all the time.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right. Do you think he came like that? I had to put time into him to get him like that!” I laughed. “No, wait. That’s a lie. He actually did come like that….hmmmm.”

“Bitch.” Megan answered, tossing a discarded sprinkle at me.

After chatting a while longer, we left the parlor and headed home. I hugged them each, saying I would see them in a couple days at my next shift, before turning towards my car.

I waved at them as they drove my, my keys in my hand. The only spot available when I had arrived had been around the corner, near the back of the lot. It was darker back here, the sun already set. I crossed quickly to my car, reaching to open the door.

“Well, well well,” a mans voice stopped me. “Fancy meeting you here, princess.”

I froze, my eyes wide, as Christian pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on, only a few feet from my car. I hadnt even seen him lurking in the shadows.

“Christian…” I squeaked, my heart hammering in my chest.

“Miss me, beautiful?” he asked, crossing to stand near the front of my car on the drivers side. My keys were clutched in my hand. I tried to subtly move the key, into a good stabbing position, just incase anything happened. I hadnt been able to unlock my car yet, and knew the moment I made a move, he would be on me. My mind raced as I tried to think of an escape.

I glanced around quickly, trying to see if anyone else was around. There were a couple of empty cars near this end of the lot, but that was it. Most people had cleared out.

Fuck.

He took one more step towards me, and I backed up. “Stay away from me, Christian.” I warned, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

“Well, you see, I don’t think I can do that.” He said, his voice sickening me. “You kind of fucked things up for me, princess.”

I snorted. “Hows that?”

“Well, me getting arrested doesn’t exactly endear me to my employer. Plus, the fact that my family had to bail me out, now they aren’t too happy with me. Of course, I made it sound like you made it up. You were always a little crazy, I explained. And they believe me, for the most part. Except Sarah. The brat is on your side. Wont even talk to me.” He glared at me as if that was my fault he was a monster.

“That’s not my fault, Christian. If you don’t want Sarah to hate you, don’t give her a reason to.”

He flew at me before I could even register the movement. His hand slammed lightening fast, and painfully, into my stomach. I doubled over, his arms catching me, as I wretched, vomiting up the ice cream I had just eaten. The pain caused flashes in my vision, my stomach twisting and churning.

All I could think about was the baby.

My hands flew to my stomach protectively.

“My sister does NOT hate me,” he spat. “She just seems to believe you, for some stupid reason.”

“It’s the fucking truth, that’s why!” I shouted, pushing him away. “You fucking tried to rape me to sick prick!?”

His hand flew out, slapping me across the face before I had had a chance to back out of his reach. I fell against the car, the mirror jabbing into my lower stomach.

I scrambled to right myself, slipping my keys between my fingers. I had seen it on TV once, that you could use your keys as a weapon, and that was the first thing that had come to my head. I looked up, ready to strike, when I froze.

That’s when I saw the gun.


	49. Chapter 49

My hands went up in front of me, like a pathetic shield.

“Christian…” I whispered, my eyes wide, locked on the gun pointed at me.

“Now you wanna talk, princess?” he spat.

I didn’t answer. I just stared at the gun, terrified.

My stomach was clenching, twisting. The cramping unbelievably painful. I took a step back, away from Christian.

“Stop!” he said, his voice firm. He had a disgusting grin on his face. “Don’t you move, beautiful. Im not done with you.”

I froze, doing as I was told. I couldn’t clear my head. Between the pain in my stomach, and the pain in my face from his slap, I was dizzy. I felt the bile rising up in my throat, and turned to throw up again. I couldn’t stop myself. But I hated how weak it made me look to throw up in front of him again.

He laughed a merciless laugh.

“Well, that’s attractive.” He taunted.

I shifted my position, leaning slightly on the car. That’s when I felt it. I looked down at my light gray scrub pants, noticing the spreading stain between my legs.

I was bleeding.

“What the fuck is that?” Christian asked, gesturing towards me with the gun. “Did a little friend come unexpectedly, princess?”

I shot him a disgusted look. “Im pregnant, you fuck.”

His eyes widened, before his lips set into a grim line. “Pregnant?”

I just glared at him in response.

He glanced at my lower region, noticing the blood. “Huh. Well, probably not anymore.” He laughed. “Sorry about that, love. Im sure your little boyfriend will be just devastated.”

I ground my teeth together, so angry and scared and in pain that I almost forgot the run pointed at me and threw myself at him. I took once step, and he raised the barrel of the gun to my face.

“Don’t. Fucking. Move.” He said, slowly, emphasizing each word.

We stared each other down, him waiting to see if I would disobey, and me waiting to see if he would actually do it.

Finally, he motioned with the gun. “Get in the car.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“NOW!” he screamed, stepping up to press the barrel to my forehead. I started to shake, my lips trembling. I went to open the door, but he reached out and grabbed the keys. “Into the passenger seat with you, princess.”

He walked be around, opening the door and letting me slide in. He slammed it behind me before crossing around and climbing in behind the wheel. He locked the doors the moment he was inside.

He started the car, the gun remaining awkwardly in his right hand as he pulled out of the parking lot, onto the street, and out of town.

I stared out the windshield in silence. Occasionally I would glance to Christian, his face impassive, one hand clenched on the steering wheel, the other on the gun. It wasn’t pointed at me, but I knew it wouldn’t take long for him to turn it in my direction if the need called for it.

“Why are you doing this?” I finally asked, my voice quiet.

He laughed, an evil, heartless sound. “You know, I honestly am not sure.” He admitted, and I turned, surprised. “At first, at the Staples Center, it was just to see if I still had control over you.” He smirked at me. “You were always so submissive. No matter what I did, you always came back.” My skin crawled at his words. “But when you pushed me away, refused me, and then that fucking Styles came to your rescue, I was just plan angry.”

His hand twitched on the gun at his hip, and my eyes shot to look down. He hadnt turned it towards me, but the motion still made it clear it was there.

He continued, his eyes still on the road. The lights of the city were growing further apart, as we headed out of town. “I had to have you again. Just to prove I could. So I showed up at your work.” He snorted at the memory. “And we all know how that went.”

I shook my head, looking back to the road. “So why not just let it go!” I asked, my voice much stronger than I felt. My hands were still on my stomach, my underwear set with blood. I was holding back crying, all I could think about was if I had lost the baby. “Why me?”

He turned to me, his face completely blank of any emotion. “Because I can.” He answered flatly. “Ive already lost everything now. My job. My family is at odds with me, not sure what to think thanks to Sarah. Even my friends have pulled away. At this point, what do I have to lose?”

I shook my head, frantic. “You can just let it go, Christian. Just let me go. I wont tell anyone about this. Just walk away, and everything will end.”

He laughed again, turning onto a narrow road just on the outskirts of the city. I had lost track of how long we had been driving, and honestly wasn’t sure where we were. I was so enveloped in the baby, the situation, I hadnt been paying as close attention as I should have been.

“And let you just go on with your happy life? After taking mine? Sorry, princess. An eye for an eye. You refused me, took away everything. Im going to do the same.” He leaned over, as close as he could while still driving. “Lets see if your little boyfriend still wants you when Im done.”

My stomach retched at his words. The panic that had subsided slightly returned in full force.

I looked around, trying desperately to place where we were. There were no street lights. The only lights were from the headlights of the car. The road was a gravel, single lane, thick trees lining each side like a dense curtain. I couldn’t see past them, I saw no houses, no other cars.

He was still driving quickly, despite the uneven terrain. I bounced uncomfortably in my seat, the trees flying past us.

I had to do something. I had to think quick. I looked down at my lap, knowing that I had probably already lost the baby. I would be damned if I was going to let him torture me, do whatever twisted things he had planned. I would rather die.

My eyes glanced over to the gun at his side. His eyes were focused on the road, he seemed to have lost his attention on me.

I knew I only had one shot at this.

I reached out quickly, grasping the barrel of the gun and pulling hard away from him. He reacted quicker than I had anticipated, his hand clenching on the handle, his finger pulling the trigger. An explosion sounded in the small car, as a bullet made a distinct hole in my dashboard.

The car swerved, skidding on the gravel road. Christian pulled the gun back, the barrel slipping from my hand. He pulled back, hitting me hard on the side of the head with the handle. I saw stars, my head falling back.

“Fucking bitch,” he spat as he righted the car. “Im going to have so much fun fucking you up, princess.”

I tried desperately to clear my foggy mind. I had to do something. The gun was now in his other hand, locked in along with the steering wheel. I had no way to reach it. I felt a slow, hot spread of blood slide down my forehead from my temple where he had struck me.

I leapt at him again, grabbing the steering wheel. I reached for the gun, but immediately knew it was useless. He pulled it away, just out of reach. I scrambled from my seat, grasping the wheel, and pulling hard towards me, while Christian struggled to keep control and push me away. The seatbelt cut into my skin, but I ignored the pain.

I would rather die, I thought to myself. I would rather die than let me touch me.

The car twisted, losing traction on the rough road. The spray of gravel clicked against the car as we slid sideways, before veering towards the trees that lined the road on either side of us. I clutched the wheel tightly, keeping myself steady as we spun and swerved. Christian was swearing, clutching the door and the gun. In a flash of coherency, I reached down with my free hand, pressing the red square on his seatbelt, releasing it.

I had just enough time to cross my arms over my face before everything went dark.


	50. Chapter 50

The first thing my senses registered was pain. Everything was pain. If pain was a color, it would be red, because that was all I could see behind my closed eyelids.

The majority of the pain was in my abdomen. It was a dull, aching, cramping pain, but it was the first sensation I felt. The next was my head. I felt like it had been split open, a searing pain throbbing at my temple. The rest of my body hurt, feeling battered and bruised, contributing to an all over pain.

The next thing I registered, was a steady, rhythmic beeping. Beep. Beep. Beep. I listened closely, trying to hear other sounds. I heard muffled words, not far from where I was. I knew I was laying down, on something soft but no particularly comfortable. I was cold, too. And felt bare.

I forced my eyes open, the light shining down blinding me for a moment. I blinked several times, letting my eyes adjust. Opening them fully, I looked up to a familiar drop ceiling. Monitors were on either side of me, a green line sliding across the screen signifying my beating heart. The numbers to the side registered my blood pressure (which was low), my heart rate (which was high) and my oxygen. The smell of bleach attacked my nose, and I wrinkled it. It caused more pain in my face.

I took a deep breath, the action hurting my ribs. I decided to wiggle my fingers. Maybe those wouldn’t hurt. I moved them slightly. Wow. Finally something that didn’t hurt.

I opened my eyes again, looking around.

I was in resus. I knew it was my hospital, because of the ugly blue curtain. I recognized the monitors, the setup. The uncomfortable surface I laid on was one of our stretchers. I felt bare because I was covered in only a sheet, wearing an ugly blue gown, the same shade as the curtains.

I could hear the voices still muffled across the room. They must be at the nurses station, right on the other side of the curtain.

I looked around, my eyes falling to a rumpled form on a chair in the corner.

Niall was half sitting, half laying across a chair, his feet up on my bed. He had a white sheet draped over him, although half of it had fallen on the floor. His mouth was slack, hanging open slightly as he slept.

His clothes were wrinkled, his hair a mess. His eyes showed light blue beneath them, a signal of not enough sleep.

I shifted on the stretcher, trying to get comfortable. The movement woke Niall, who gave a deep intake of breath, before opening his eyes sleepily. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, his feet sliding off my bed and onto the floor with a thud. He scowled, before looking over to me.

His eyes widened, suddenly awake completely.

“Oh thank GOD!” He said, relief thick in his accent, as he stood and crossed to my face in only one stride. He kissed me gently, first my forehead, then cheek then lips. His hands were placed gently on my cheeks, holding me as if he was afraid if he let go I would disappear.

He pressed his forehead to mine, gazing at me.

“Hi” I squeaked, my voice hoarse. My throat was painfully dry. Great, yet another thing that hurt.

He chuckled. “Hi to you too.” His thumb stroked my cheek, back and forth.

I didn’t know what to say at that moment, so I stayed silent. I just looked at him, almost crying. The memories of the car, Christian, the baby, came back like a landslide.

“What happened?” I asked, my lip shaking.

He frowned, pulling back to sit on the side of my bed. He clasped one of my hands in both of his.

“The fuck kidnapped you outside the ice cream place,” he said. I noticed he never used Christians name. It was always ‘the fuck’. “He took you to the south end of the city, down some back road. The police aren’t sure what happened, but you were in an accident. Your car hit a tree.”

He paused for a long moment, gauging my reaction. When I didn’t seem upset, he continued.

“You had your seatbelt on, so other than a few bruises and a pretty bad concussion, you are okay.”

“Christian?” I managed to ask, holding his hand tighter.

He grinned a smile I never thought I would see on Nialls face. It was heartless. “Dead.” He said with evident satisfaction. “Must not have been wearing his seat belt.”

I nodded, staying silent. I remembered the accident. I remembered grabbing the wheel, the car losing control. I remembered reaching over, just before impact, and unbuckling Christians seat belt.

As much as I knew Niall would be proud of me, I stayed quiet. This was something I was going to take to the grave.

My hand found my tummy, and suddenly I was terrified.

“The baby?” I asked, my eyes finding his.

He frowned again, looking down at the hand that covered my abdomen. He paused a long moment, before leaning down to kiss my forehead.

“Im sorry, Dylan.” He said, rubbing my cheek. “The baby didn’t make it.”

My heart clenched, my lip shaking as the reality of what I already knew sunk in. I had known. I knew in the car. I knew before I reached for the gun, reached for the steering wheel. But still, to hear it, especially from Niall, broke my heart all over again.

I started to cry, silent, soft sobs. Niall slid up, wrapping his arms around me as best he could, trying to comfort me. “Im sorry, baby.” He said, leaning his cheek on top of my head. He reached down, pulling my hand from my stomach to hold it tightly against his lips. He kissed it over and over, as if he would be able to take away the pain and emptiness I now felt in my gut.

We sat like this for a while, before the curtain parted, and Rajani stepped in. She was working emerg that night, thankfully. Niall slid from the bed, but still held my hand as Rajani looked me over. Niall told her he had already told me about the baby.

“Okay,” she nodded sadly. “No one knew, obviously. And even now, the only ones who know are the three of us, and Megan and Stacy cause they were on resus tonight when you came in. No one will ever know past us.”

I nodded, tears still sliding down my face.

Apparently I had been unconscious for several hours. Megan had called Niall the second I had come into resus, who was frantic. He had called Taylor, who had gone to get coffee and food for everyone when I woke. She returned not long later, almost dropping her coffee when she saw I was awake.

“OH THANK GOD!” he cried, enveloping me in a hug. She immediately started to cry, which made me cry.

“I lost the baby,” I whispered in her ear, and she hugged me tighter.

“Don’t think about that right now,” she told me. She pulled back, sitting on the edge of the bed, almost pushing Niall off. He shot her a look before sitting in the chair at my bedside.

“How do you feel?” she asked, eyeing me.

“Like I was in a car accident and got pistol whipped.” I said, proud I was still about to keep my humor.

Nialls eyes widened. “He hit you? With a gun?”

I nodded, relieved that Christian was dead. If he hadnt been, the look on Nialls face left little doubt that he would have killed him.

“He pulled a gun on me outside the shop,” I told them, my voice low. I knew I would have to explain everything to the police, but for now, I didn’t want the world to know. “He forced me in the car. He told me he wanted to take everything away from me, because since I had him arrested, he had lost his job and his family hated him. This was some sick revenge or something. He hit me with the gun when I resisted.” I said, my eyes falling to the sheet that covered me. I edited out the whole punch in the stomach/steering wheel/seatbelt thing. Like I said, I was taking that to the grave. “I don’t remember much else.”

Niall rubbed my leg soothingly. “Don’t worry about it, babe. Don’t even think about it.”

“Im glad the bastard is dead.” Taylor stated firmly. I gave her a shocked look. She was usually so gentle, it was odd hearing something like this come from her. “Well its true.” She added, noticing my gaze.

Niall hit her on the arm, pushing her off the bed so he could reclaim me. Taylor sat in the chair, pulling the tab back on her coffee while Niall leaned over me and kissed me.

“Im sorry about the baby, Dylan.” He said, quietly enough so only I could hear him.

I nodded, biting my lip to keep myself from crying again.

“We will have one, eventually.” He said, rubbing my cheek. “Hell, we will have ten if you want.”

I laughed, tears falling when I relaxed. “You just like practicing making babies.” I teased.

He smirked. Resting his forehead against mine, he met his blue eyes to my green ones. “I do. But I also loved the idea of you carrying my baby. And, when the times right, I cant wait for that feeling again.”

He kissed me again, all the pain in my body fading as I lost myself in his touch. I closed my eyes, letting my mind drift away.

It had been an intense year. Leaving my job, my home, my friends, all to take a chance on making my hobby a career. In return, I made incredible friends I knew I could never live without, fell in love with the most amazing man in the world, and proved to myself that I was much stronger than I had originally thought.

I guess taking chances isn’t always a bad thing.


End file.
